Sinn Féin concluded its tortuous journey towards endorsing policing in Northern Ireland when its three representatives joined the other 16 members of the new Policing Board for its first meeting yesterday.
The outgoing chairman and vice-chairman of the board, Prof Sir Desmond Rea and Barry Gilligan were re-elected to these posts at the private meeting of the board in Belfast.
Afterwards Mr Rea said that the board was now "totally inclusive" and that as a result NI was entering a "new era in the history of policing".
This is the third board since it was established in November 2001 and has 19 members, 10 of whom are political appointees while nine are independent and nominated by Northern secretary Peter Hain.
The DUP has four members, Sinn Féin three, the Ulster Unionist Party two and the SDLP one member on the board. This is in line with the parties' ministerial representation on the Executive.
The Sinn Féin Assembly members who took up their posts yesterday are Alex Maskey from the West Belfast constituency, Martina Anderson from Foyle and Mr Daithí McKay from North Antrim. A former Sinn Féin mayor of Derry, Gearóid Ó hEara, was also appointed as an independent member.
Mr Maskey said Sinn Féin would adopt a critical and constructive approach to its responsibilities. "We will be very, very robust in making sure that policing is accountable to the people," he said.
Sinn Féin is determined to "make the bad experiences of policing" a thing of the past.
"We want to be very constructive, and will endeavour on behalf of our party to move forward and deal with the challenges in the time ahead," he said.
"These are to ensure a civic policing service, accountable and representative of the community, is delivered as quickly as possible; that the chief constable and the PSNI are publicly held to account; that policing with the community is achieved as the core function of the PSNI; that political policing, collusion and 'the force within a force' is a thing of the past and to oppose any involvement by the British Security Service/MI5 in civic policing; that the issue of plastic bullets is properly addressed," he added.
"Sinn Féin will not be afraid to confront head-on issues of concern to ourselves and people we represent. The days of PSNI officers coming to the Policing Board to have decisions rubberstamped and endorsed are over," said Mr Maskey.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said Sinn Féin's involvement in the board marked another new and positive phase for policing in NI. The work of the board remained "vital, both in securing an accountable police service but also in building ever stronger relations between the PSNI and communities on the ground", he added.
Mr Rea, emeritus Professor of Human Resource Management at the University of Ulster, has been chairman of the board since its establishment almost six years ago. "We are entering a new era in the history of policing in Northern Ireland . . . an accountable, effective, efficient and impartial police service," he said.
"I believe that both the political and independent members of this board intend to work for all the people of Northern Ireland in seeking to meet the board's objectives."
Property developer Barry Gilligan, who succeeded Denis Bradley as vice-chairman of the second board, said while Northern Ireland faced many daunting challenges his fellow board members "indicated their full commitment to the job in hand".
"Engaging communities and building public confidence in policing will be a priority for the new board - particularly where communities have been disaffected," he added.
