The Progressive Unionist Party, the UVF's political wing, has said renaming the RUC is "equivalent to changing Windscale to Sellafield or Long Kesh to the Maze".
In its response to the Patten report, the party said while policing in the North must be reformed, there must not be "change for change's sake".
It questioned several symbolic changes recommended. The PUP said the Union flag was flown fewer than 15 days a year from RUC stations and it argued that the RUC's badge reflected both traditions in the North.
"Those emotive subjects are painful for the Protestant, unionist and loyalist communities, yet there is no encouragement from nationalist or republican representatives that if these things were to be implemented that they would encourage nationalists or republicans to join. Therefore if there is no gain, there should be no pain."
The PUP said the report focussed too much on working with the Garda and did not emphasise that co-operation must be "European and global as well". It said the document did not recognise, much less address, the issue of gender, racial or class discrimination in the police force. The party agreed it was unwise for former prisoners and former combatants to be admitted into the force but said there must be no discrimination against their relatives.
Meanwhile, the Methodist Church in Ireland said while most of the report's recommendations presented no difficulty for the vast majority of Methodists, there were concerns about the change of title and badge, the proposed oath for serving officers, the proposed policing and partnership boards, and proposals for recruitment, redundancy and support for training.
It believed "the majority of Methodist people do not wish any change in the title or badge".