Two-thirds of Catholics are afraid to join Northern Ireland's new police force because of fears of being attacked, a new report claimed today.
In the Community Attitude Survey, carried out by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency between January and December 2003, nearly 1,500 people were interviewed.
Asked for reasons that might deter Catholics from joining the police, 67 per cent of Catholics admitted to concerns of an attack on them or their relatives.
Among the other main reasons given by Catholics were other Catholics putting pressure on them not to join (50 per cent ) and fear they could not maintain contact with family and friends (46 per cent ).
Two-thirds of Catholic respondents also thought police dealt fairly with everyone - up 5 per cent on 2002.
Although the number of Catholic officers has risen to 14 per cent, republicans' continued boycott has severely hampered attempts to end the overwhelming religious imbalance.
Professor Desmond Rea, chairman of the Policing Board which published the study, said: "Any modern society that has a sizeable section of its community that feels unable to join its police service because of either fear or intimidation is a terrible indictment of that society."
PA