The Northern Secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson, yesterday paid tribute to the RUC and the sacrifices of its officers but insisted radical change was necessary because it was not feasible to have a police service "so extremely unrepresentative of the society it serves".
Accordingly, he decided to implement the bulk of the Patten Commission's report on policing. The Royal Ulster Constabulary title is to be abandoned, the numbers in the new force are to be significantly reduced, and as many Catholics as Protestants are to be recruited.
There was some tweaking to the Patten report - particularly in relation to a recommendation which unionists feared would allow paramilitaries to have a secondary role in local policing - but, in broad terms, what Chris Patten proposed is what Northern Ireland is getting.
So, it will be the Police Service of Northern Ireland instead of the Northern Ireland Police Service. The RUC name is to be replaced by the acronym PSNI, which should not be as open to ridicule as the Patten alternative - NIPS.
Crucially, in attracting more Catholics into the force (currently at 8 per cent) the Northern Secretary accepted that recruitment be on a 50:50 Catholic/Protestant basis. In the autumn of next year, the new name will come into effect.
The other emotive issue is the badge and its symbols of the crown over the harp surrounded by sprigs of shamrock. Patten proposed that the badge of the new force should discard these symbols. The Northern Secretary left it for the proposed Policing Board to find a consensus on a new badge.
Mr Mandelson indicated that the awarding last autumn of the George Cross to the RUC should be incorporated in the new badge. He backed off from definitively accepting that the British Union flag should not be flown from police buildings. Patten recommended that if a flag is to be flown it should be that of the new service. Again it will be for the Policing Board to try to settle this issue.
Sinn Fein will have an important say in these contentious matters as the Policing Board is to be comprised of 10 Assembly MLAs, including two Sinn Fein members, and nine independent members. The main function of the board will be to scrutinise the workings of the PSNI.
The Northern Secretary accepted the proposals on the future strength of the force. This will mean the reduction of the overall full-time and part-time elements of the RUC from 13,000 to about 10,000. The full-time force will drop from 8,500 to 7,500. The full-time reserve of 2,900 officers will be disbanded, and the part-time reserve will be increased from 1,300 to about 2,500.
Mr Mandelson appeared to long-finger the creation of the proposed District Policing Partnership Boards (DPPBs) in favour of what he called District Policing Partnerships. He left to the Criminal Justice Review a controversial decision on whether local councils could raise the 3p in the pound that would go to the DPPBs to "purchase additional services", including services from the "private sector".
The latter reference had triggered unionist concerns that this would be a back-door mechanism to bring republican or loyalist paramilitaries into the policing system. Probably arising from similar concerns, Mr Mandelson said he was sceptical about the proposal to create four DPPBs in Belfast's four constituencies.
He also accepted the Patten line that "ex-terrorists" could not join the new force, although here again there will be disputes over whether this constitutes somebody with a paramilitary conviction or someone reputed to have been a paramilitary.
Unionists argued against the amalgamation of the Special Branch and the Criminal Investigation Department because they believed it could undermine the police battle against the paramilitaries. But the Northern Secretary agreed with Patten's argument that the Special Branch should not be allowed act as an almost autonomous "force within a force".
Mr Mandelson accepted that new police officers should take an oath pledging to uphold human rights. He decided, contrary to Patten, that existing officers need not take the pledge. Unionists complained that the necessity for an oath by implication suggested that the RUC did not observe human rights.
The Patten report contains several recommendations for improved co-operation with the Garda, including secondments between the two forces, and the possible pooling of investigative teams to tackle cross-Border crime. Mr Mandelson did not go into specifics but a spokesman said he welcomed the concept of enhanced co-operation with the Garda and other police forces.
It would be for ministers from the two jurisdictions to pursue the Patten proposals, the spokesman added.
To ensure the proposals proceed as planned, Mr Mandelson accepted the appointment of an oversight commissioner to monitor the implementation of the changes.