New research findings of widespread harassment of or discrimination against Catholics in the RUC has confirmed that "minimalist efforts" at reform announced recently are "inadequate to deal with the problem", the SDLP has said.
An SDLP spokesman, Mr Alex Attwood, was responding to internal RUC research which found that at least 29 per cent of all Catholic officers had experienced religious harassment from colleagues, and at least 12 per cent had experienced religious discrimination by superiors.
Questionnaires were sent to all the RUC's 12,800 regular and reserve officers, and about one-third responded. Details of the unpublished report appeared in the London Independent newspaper yesterday.
Mr Attwood said it was a strong indicator of the culture that prevailed within the RUC, and he wondered if recent measures, such as the announcement by the Police Authority of new steps to attract Catholics, were not in anticipation of this report.
"One would have to ask if these announcements, which appeared to suggest a degree of change, but in reality didn't get to the root of change, were in anticipation of this latest information," he said, adding that it raised the question of whether bodies such as the Police Authority and Police Federation were approaching the policing debate "in good faith and with good intentions".
Mr Attwood also said there had been an attempt to sideline the policing issue from political negotiations. This research, he said, confirmed that the talks process was "the only proper place where the matter can be finally resolved".
A Sinn Fein spokesman, Mr Alex Maskey, said the research demonstrated the "true and unchangeable nature" of the RUC. "Those Catholics foolish enough to join the RUC, and who feel that because they are unionists they will be treated somewhat differently, have in fact been proven wrong," he said.
In a statement yesterday, the RUC said it had intended to publish the document. The final version was to have been discussed by senior officers next week and "all necessary measures taken to address the issues identified".
The Chief Constable, Mr Ronnie Flanagan, said he was determined that "religious harassment must be eliminated" and that the survey results would be fully considered.
The research also found that 34 per cent of Catholic RUC officers reported being disillusioned with their career, and 21 per cent had considered leaving the force due to discrimination or harassment. In most cases, instances of discrimination were not officially reported by the officers, who said they did not want to be victimised or thought nothing would be done about it.
Only 11 per cent of Catholic officers and 14 per cent of Protestants believed there was no discrimination in the force.
However, 40 per cent of Catholic officers felt discrimination had become less of a problem.