Policing a Divided Society

Abstract

Issues concerning policing policies, structures and practices — and the administration of justice in general — have been central to the polarisation of Northern Irish society since the establishment of the state, and they continue to divide the two communities. On the one hand, most unionists see the various institutional arrangements and legislative framework for the maintenance of law and order as essential to the preservation of the constitutional status quo, faced with the threat from militant republicanism. On the other hand, most nationalists view the same institutions and legislation as yet another example — and one of the most blatant and important examples — of the sectarian nature of the state. Indeed, as Hillyard (1983: 35) points out, from the outset the law and order strategy adopted by successive unionist governments continually alienated the minority community from both the law and the state. This has proved to be a difficult legacy for successive British governments striving to deal with the security problems facing the province, at the same time as trying to establish some degree of confidence in the law and order institutions among the Catholic population. And it has also proved a particularly difficult legacy for the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). In order to win the ‘hearts and minds’ of the Catholic community the RUC must prove itself to be a non-political, non-partisan force. However, this is problematic in a society where the legitimacy of the state itself is contested. If it is seen to be protecting the status quo the RUC will be viewed by many in the nationalist community as an obstacle to change. However, if the RUC is involved in the policing of political initiatives such as the Anglo-Irish Agreement, it risks alienating the support which it has traditionally had from the unionist community.