The RUC Chief Constable, Mr Ronnie Flanagan, has mounted a staunch defence of the force and has warned the independent commission on the future of the RUC not to undermine its operational independence.
Mr Flanagan also insisted that any attempt to change the RUC's title amounted to "tokenism" and that before any change was sanctioned there should be "rigorous research" to determine what the people of Northern Ireland felt about the idea.
In an interview in yesterday's Daily Telegraph, which itself urged the British government not to "undermine" the force, Mr Flanagan admitted that although the commission was not sought by the RUC, it would enable his officers to defend themselves against the "bombardment of propaganda" they had faced in recent years.
The reputation of the RUC was unsurpassed, but it had been used as "a political football and my officers are determined to defend that", he said.
In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Flanagan paid an emotional tribute to the 299 RUC officers murdered by terrorists in the past 30 years. The men and women who had lost their lives were immensely important to the RUC and their murders served as an inspiration to the force.
"Those officers and all the families mean an immense amount to us. They are an inspiration to us, and their sacrifice and that of their families and our disabled officers is an inspiration and a spur to us to renew our resolve to continue to do what those officers strove so valiantly to do," he said.
In conjunction with the interview, the Daily Telegraph published photographs of most of the murdered officers across two of its pages. At the request of their families, the faces of several officers were blacked out and only their names and a short profile appeared.
Mr Flanagan referred to the unease among RUC officers since the Northern Ireland Agreement was signed. He insisted that terrorist suspects on remand would face the full weight of the law and that former paramilitary prisoners would not be welcome in the force. "We have seen far too clearly demonstrated what paramilitary justice is all about," he added.
On the proposal to change the RUC's title, Mr Flanagan said public opinion did not want it removed. "It's not just a name, it's a title conferred by royal charter. There are very few policing organisations in the world that enjoy that privilege. It makes us proud," he said.
Mr Flanagan also spoke of the continued threat to peace in Northern Ireland. Although the immediate threat was posed by splinter groups such as the INLA, the Continuity IRA, the LVF and those with links to the 32-County Sovereignty Committee, the IRA was still a danger. It still had access to the means of engaging in terrorist activities and "they continue to pose a threat".
Mr Flanagan said that in an attempt to address reform within the force he would consider whether there was a need to regularly fly the Union flag outside RUC stations, and he would also look at changes in the working environment for his officers to ensure their different traditions were recognised.