Sinn Fein issued its rejection of the Northern Ireland policing implementation plan yesterday. The following is a summary of the 20 points in the document.
1: Patten recommended every officer, not just recruits, take a human rights oath. This oath was designed to have precedence over oaths given to secret societies (for example, Orange/Masonic Orders). At present only new recruits take the oath.
2: The Good Friday agreement envisaged that control of the new police service would be shared between the Policing Board, the British Secretary of State and the chief constable. Under the present proposals the Secretary of State and the chief constable retain considerable overriding powers.
The implementation plan goes beyond Patten by making certain developments subject to security assessments of the chief constable, the Northern Ireland Office and the British army GOC.
3: Under Patten, the Police Board would hold the chief constable to account, except in a limited number of situations. The implementation plan has expanded the number of exceptions.
4: Patten directed the Police Board to comprehensive powers of inquiry and all members of the police service, including the chief constable, co-operate fully with Board inquiries. Procedural hurdles have now been put in the way of Board inquiries, including a bar on investigations into past policing activities.
5: Patten recommended district police commanders be called to account for the actions of officers to District Policing Partnerships (DPPs). These DPPs were to provide a bridge between local communities and local police commanders. Under the present Police Act and the implementation plan, district commanders are not fully accountable to their respective DPPs.
6: The DPP of Belfast should be sub-divided into four sub-groups, covering the North, South, East and West of the city, according to Patten. Now, the Chief Constable will decide the number of police districts and their territory.
7: The police Ombudsman is only permitted to investigate the conduct of officers from a period one year previous to the British Government's act. Patten did not specify any limit on retrospective inquiries.
8: The issue of covert policing has not been addressed in line with Patten's recommendations.
9: Patten determined "policing with the community shall be the core function of every police officer". This ruling has been lost.
10: The chief constable should not be allowed a veto over the extent and pace of demilitarisation.
11: Plastic bullets are lethal weapons - the recently introduced ones even more so - and should be banned immediately.
12: In line with Patten, all police officers working in local communities must be identified by name and local station.
13: Patten recognised the problems the Special Branch posed as a "force within a force". The implementation plan does little to curtail the corrosive influence of the Special Branch.
14: The full-time reserve was to be phased out over three years, according to Patten. Almost two years later this process has not begun, nor has the process to expand the part-time reserve, which was intended to address nationalist under-representation in the force.
15: The composition of the new police service must reflect society as a whole. There is no acknowledgement that there is a political character to representativeness in terms of nationalism and republicanism. Furthermore, no date has been specified by which time the force will be representative in terms of religion and political affiliation.
16: Under the current arrangements, all officers are to register their interests and associations, such as membership of the Orange Order or the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Under Patten the police Ombudsman would have access to such information. Now it is proposed these files will only be available to the Chief Constable.
17: The reference to the RUC in the title of the new police service is at odds with Patten and should be removed.
18: Emblems "free from association" with either the British or Irish states should be adopted by the new police service in line with Patten. This matter should not be left to the Policing Board.
19: The creation of an RUC George Cross Foundation cherishes the failed legacy of the RUC and is outside Patten's recommendations.
20: The oversight commissioner was tasked to oversee the operation of the Police Act, rather than the implementation of the Patten report as was originally intended. His position has been undermined by the act.
In addition, the oversight commissioner has no powers of direction. He should be given the statutory powers and the role envisaged by Patten.