All of the Patten proposals for police reform in Northern Ireland will be implemented or on the way to implementation by May next year if the current rate of progress continues, according to the new police oversight commissioner Mr Al Hutchinson.
However, Mr Hutchinson, in the Oversight Commission's 10th report published today, cautioned that the pace of reform to the police special branch as envisaged under Patten was far from "stellar". A more detailed report on the special branch would emanate from the commission in September this year, he added.
Patten recommended that special branch, previously described as a "force within a force", should be subsumed into the general criminal division of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Sinn Féin, in particular, regularly claims that the old RUC special branch effectively is unchanged and cites this as one of its main reasons for refusing to join the Policing Board. Mr Hutchinson described the current plans to bring special branch within the general policing system as a "solid effort", but indicated that he was unhappy with the pace of reform.
"Unfortunately, the record of accomplished change in special branch has not been stellar, and we will continue to maintain a focus on the changes in this area of critical public interest," he said.
Mr Hutchinson, who was a senior officer in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and worked as chief of staff in the Oversight Commission since January 2001, took over from Mr Tom Constantine who retired at the end of last year.
He made an implicit appeal to Sinn Féin to join the Policing Board in his report. "While the PSNI's recruitment figures continue to be encouraging, the level of overall community support envisioned by (Patten's) independent commission, as necessary for real change to occur, has unfortunately not yet been provided.
"The Policing Board and the District Policing Partnerships (DPPs) need to benefit from the full range of political representation to be truly effective. This has not yet happened."
He was critical of the Irish Government for failing to enact the legislation necessary to allow the exchange of officers between the PSNI and the Garda.
Such legislation was in place in Northern Ireland, but "unfortunately the lack of similar progress in the Republic of Ireland is an impediment to the exchange of police officers."
He praised people who had joined the DPPs despite attacks and intimidation from the "Real" IRA and others. "It is deplorable that those who courageously volunteer their time and effort in service of their community should face threats and intimidation from individuals or groups more concerned with protecting their power base and criminal enterprises."
