It is common knowledge to the people of Northern Ireland and Ireland that the previous police force of Northern Ireland, the RUC or to give it it’s full moniker – The Royal Ulster Constabulary, was superseded by The PSNI or The Police Service of Northern Ireland. This action was undertaken on the basis of The Patten Report produced on the 9th September 1999 which put forward 175 recommendations to address the people’s dissatisfaction with the current policing of its time. Some of those recommendations include;
- renaming the Royal Ulster Constabulary the Police Service of Northern Ireland;
- a new Policing Board and District Policing Partnership Boards to ensure accountability;
- creation of a Police Ombudsman and a Complaints Tribunal;
- removal of most visible symbols of Britishness from the police service;
- a 50-50 recruitment policy for Catholics and Protestants;
- a new code of ethics and oath of office, including a strong emphasis on human rights;
- an emphasis on community policing and normalisation;
- proposals for training, community liaison, cooperation with other police services, and recruitment from outside Northern Ireland; and
- repeal by the Gaelic Athletic Association of its Rule 21, which prohibited members of the police or Army in Northern Ireland from being members of the Association.
But why were these changes needed? What were the problems within the RUC? Do further changes need to be made?
The RUC were basically serving a hybrid function – attempting to police a country unofficially at war whilst serving the factions whose backing they possessed.
Rumours abound of lack of accountability, even collusion in murders, bigotry, ethnic and religious bias, sexual misconduct by officers, corruption, wrongful arrests, excessive use of force, harassment, failure to support their own officers mental health adequately, failure to act in a trauma informed way with the war torn public. The list is too lengthy to cite fully here. But the very fact that there have been numerous inquiries over the years speaks volumes.
In fact, allegations regarding collusion prompted several inquiries on that basis alone, the most recent of which was authored by Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan in 2007. The report identified police, CID and Special Branch collusion with loyalist terrorists and yet, no member of the RUC has EVER been charged or convicted of any criminal acts as a result of these inquiries. O’Loan stated in her conclusions that there was no reason to believe the findings of the investigation were isolated incidents.
So has the policing here in Northern Ireland really upped its game, or were the proposals in the Patten report merely token gestures that did not go nearly far enough? Well, I think the current feeling of the public speaks for itself, as do the news articles we see almost daily about PSNI activities and conduct.
Rape victims in Northern Ireland are being ‘forced’ to choose between healthcare and justice according to the Northern Ireland’s victims of crime commissioner, as police officers have the authority to seize counselling records in rape crime cases. So, many victims forgo seeking help when they desperately need it.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-64532115
There is also a growing discontent within the community over police misconduct cases and how they are addressed. In other words…standards of accountability and transparency have not improved as they were meant to.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-64365477
The PSNI has pledged to take stronger and much more robust action against sexual crimes involving women, girls, marginalised communities and LGBTQIA persons. They have also pledged to root out officers guilty of sexual misconduct and hold them accountable as laid out here in their own charter.
https://www.psni.police.uk/VAWG
So can someone please explain to me why the following has taken place and similar situations continue?
Minors, being strip searched by PSNI officers, in many cases without even an appropriate adult present. If that was any other organisation, it would be seen as child abuse.
This is the abysmal success rate of the PSNI regarding conviction of sexual assault and rape cases over the period of 2021/2022. But considering I know personally that the PSNI often take a supremely lazy attitude to collecting the very evidence needed to convict and even to arrest those accused and question them in a timely manner, this is not a huge surprise.
Although not PSNI, judiciary processes are linked. Attitudes filter through the system. So is it any great surprise that Judge Neil Rafferty KC of Northern Ireland reportedly said to a 17 year old victim of rape that in light of the guilty plea in relation to the four offences committed against her by the accused, that she now had ‘a gold standard of vindication.’
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-63784252
Let’s just stop and think about that for a moment there.
‘A gold standard of vindication.’
What does that term vindication even mean in a legal setting?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, it means, ‘to prove that someone is not guilty or is free from blame.’
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/vindicated
Oh I see…so being raped is sort of a pseudo crime and you will be expected to clear yourself of any blame then? Thank you, your Honor. That young school girl must be so grateful you cleared that up.
But really, having read the article and others pertaining to it, I’m at a loss as to understand how a schoolgirl whose life has been irrevocably changed and disrupted, who was repeatedly assaulted by a grown man, needs to vindicate herself?
In what way did a young girl, who by the Judges own admission, showed extreme bravery and fortitude in bringing her assailant to justice, need to clear her name and to be freed from blame?
She did not is the answer. It is misogyny. It is a harmful and flawed system.
And why do incidents like this occur if the PSNI is so devoted to VAWG?
Racism is also a concern. Amnesty International has raised feelings of disquiet over the racial bias shown in the statistics of PSNI stop and search policies of ethnic minorities.
In another potential policing failure, actions of PSNI officers were called into question after the Greenvale Hotel tragedy where three young teens lost their lives. The outcome can be read about in the link below. It was widely reported that the officers attending withdrew and waited for back up instead of intervening, placing their own safety above the lives of those who needed their help in a very critical situation.
There are accusations and rumours of collusion and troubles related corruption still ongoing involving the rebranded force – including Northern Ireland police officers being accused of concealing data on loyalist killings.
And hiding evidence
In this instance, extreme negligence and poor training could have led to the death of a child but thankfully didn’t.
Here, a PSNI officer was investigated for allegedly threatening to shoot a teenager in the head whilst off duty.
A very upsetting botched murder investigation of an elderly man.
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41021699.html
In an outrageous and so far inexplicable move, both the state assigned coroner and the PSNI deny Fiona Donohoe, the grieving mother of Noah Donohoe who died in deeply suspicious circumstances, full access to the investigative material surrounding his death. Thus adding to her trauma.
https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/coroner-approves-psni-bid-withhold-24961747
The police force here still has a terrible track record in safeguarding and addressing both its own officers’ mental health and that of the public they serve.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-66031541
https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/crime/psni-dealing-20000-mental-health-incidents-year-974864
The very latest series of scandals emanating from the PSNI threaten not only the very safety of every single officer in the force, their families and civilian workers but also raises doubts about its future as a force in its current configuration.
A series of unprecedented data breaches has exposed significant details which may be of use to terrorists. Already arrests have been made of individuals who allegedly had such plans in mind. To think that such a catalogue of potentially fatal blunders could occur in the wake of the assassination attempt against Detective John Caldwell is staggering, especially in light of the fact that the threat level to officers had been raised to severe in March 2023.
No doubt the psychological and emotional fallout for officers is high – most especially so for the man presiding over this mess, Chief Constable Simon Byrne. In the weeks that followed he jutted his jowly chin defiantly whilst sporting worried eyes. Like a deer caught in the headlights he stood before numerous press conferences and then the policing board, poo pooing any inference he ought to resign.
But that day finally did come even though he tried to swim against the tide. The final straw appears to have been the unlawful disciplining of two of his own officers that he claims happened in an attempt to appease Sinn Fein. Having lost the confidence of the public, the policing board and his own officers, his choices were whittled to zero.
So much for the much lauded illustrious RUC replacement. No doubt many officers will quite rightly be deeply concerned about the safety of themselves and their loved ones but in addition the public will be left wondering how a government nominated body charged with the task to serve and protect the public can possibly do so when they so dramatically and publicly endanger and betray themselves with such blinding ineptitude.
There is also the matter of the sharp rise in violence against officers. Societal factors need to be considered. Lockdown was stressful to many. The cost of living crisis has also fractured some people. We live in an unofficial post conflict society. But could severe police failings and misconduct be adding to the mix? There certainly seems to be a documented increase in attacks and considering we need the police and that they should be allowed to serve the public properly without endangerment, the reasons behind this rise and addressing safeguarding for them and their families is vital.
https://www.psni.police.uk/latest-news/assaults-police-hit-five-year-high
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-64872939
The public need protection of their rights and representation too. And we are lead to believe that the Police Ombudsman is a fair and impartial forum through which any policing failures can be addressed.
Well, I refer you once again to the words of Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan in 2007, when her report identified police, CID and Special Branch collusion with loyalist terrorists and yet, NO member of the RUC has EVER been charged or convicted of any criminal acts as a result of those inquiries. O’Loan stated in her conclusions that there was no reason to believe the findings of the investigation were isolated incidents.
So what is the point of the Ombudsman then? What do the figures suggest as to their success rate in helping the public find answers and justice?
Take a look at the link below showing their ‘Case Studies’ and draw your own conclusions.
https://www.policeombudsman.org/Investigation-Reports/Case-Studies
And what does the evidence reveal with regard to the neutrality and therefore legitimacy of the Police Ombudsman to investigate and regulate the Police Service of Northern Ireland?
That a high proportion of them could be seen as compromised potentially in terms of neutrality. You think they are going to support me or you in prosecuting fellow officers? Not if they can help it.
https://www.policeombudsman.org/PONI/files/c4/c4ce13cf-635c-4e67-a8d1-a8b367120e83.pdf
https://www.policeombudsman.org/PONI/files/eb/eb661414-a16c-467c-afac-eb3e44311368.pdf
If you have the time to read the reports above, you will see, clear admissions that the PSNI are overseen by an organisation called ‘The Police Ombudsman’ who actually admit to seeking out staff whose neutrality is questionable. I.E. They employ/employed EX RUC, EX PSNI, Officers from other forces, such as Scotland and Wales, some of whom are ACTUAL SERVING SECONDED OFFICERS, and as well as ex military.
Not surprising then that amongst the civilian population there is still a deep sense mistrust of the PSNI and a sense that they are largely unaccountable. Those of us that have maybe witnessed firsthand the John Wayne swagger and bravado of the rifle green or bottle green wearing brigade, the at times under-handedness, the callousness; we realise that they are still every bit as corrupt as the RUC ever was and that they are even now essentially, just the RUC rebranded to placate a deeply dissatisfied, divided and damaged people.
You cannot police a province when your own force are not exemplary – when they rape, murder and collude with paramilitaries, when they fall short so often themselves but do all they can to cover ass.
You cannot give the women and girls here a sense of safety and recourse for crime perpetrated against them when it is sometimes your own doing it. Or when you attempt to discourage us from reporting in the first place. And when we are told to take it up with the police ombudsman whose impartiality as you have seen is more than questionable, if we are unhappy with the investigation. If it wasn’t questionable, their results would NOT consistently find in favour of the police as often as they do, people would NOT discontinue complaints with such frequency, they would not feel that they are almost being ‘interogated’ by police instead of a neutral organisation.
(See excerpts from the Ombudsman’s own reports below.)
And despite the Police Ombudsman making such admissions, the PSNI deny knowledge of such. I refer you to the results of a freedom of information request to the PSNI on the topic below. Make your own minds up.
This may not be a country fighting an undisclosed war anymore with guns and bombs. Well, not so much. Yet, the force overseeing us needs to remember that for their own welfare and for that of the public. This is a nation of traumatised people – transgenerational. Drugs and alcohol are the sticking plasters and cause further issues. No one is immune. The PSNI need to be trauma informed towards themselves and with those they deal with. Training needs to take place to that effect. The figures and reports attest to that. And not just me. They are fighting a war now on two fronts…within and without. They must adapt. They must accept that they will be held accountable too if and when necessary. So…
‘Physician, heal thyself.’
© 2026, SamanthaJWright.com. All rights reserved.
That was a pretty boring read. Next time try writing something intersting.
Next time perhaps don’t go to the trouble of creating a throw away email account just to pour scorn over someone’s work. It sort of makes it seem as if, you were feeling rather an unusual amount of hostility for someone who merely claims to be just ‘bored’ by my article. I am choosing to leave your ‘intersting’ comment here so ALL can see it and draw their own conclusions. And if I was you, I’d think very carefully before posting anything like that here again. There is feedback and there is genuine dialogue. If you think you can troll me here or anywhere else, you ‘my friend’ have another thing coming.
Lady Sheba
Dear Lady Sheba.
My mother often said….”never trust a policeman, even if he was your own brother”
A very informative read full of the truths of our past and probably our present also.
Xxx Paul
Thank you for your thoughts on it. Not an easy write at all, or read. But I feel change must happen. I can’t do much. I am just one person. And to be realistic, no police force on this earth is perfect. But having seen and experienced the things I have, I must speak out. It is not in my nature to keep quiet if I feel injustice is occurring. I also feel the deep pain and scarring of society around us. Your mother was a wise woman xxx
Every country needs an honest police force. But there is no such thing. Their masters use them as a tool to suppress the masses.
Bad apples exist in the PSNI barrel as you have sadly and unfortunately experienced Lady S. Keep chipping away vocally about your experience and perhaps some justice will be metered on the perpetrator.
Thank you Paul.
I was in the PSNI for a long time and not behind a desk. I acknowledge that as in the MET police the PSNI has bad apples and people that make mistakes. No one hates these misfits than other Officers. I would say the vast majority risk their lives daily. Constantly criticised, never good enough. As for the RUC 300 we’re murdered often in front of their children. A fact your happy to gloss over from your comfy armchair. They had no magic wands but had the guts go try. What have you done, what risk have you taken. You comment about things you have no concept of. Your alternative is?
You use reductive speech and absolutist terms. Never a good way to fight your corner.
I advise not stepping into the boots and strapping on your kevlar vest in the first place, if you are not prepared to be held to account and be scrutinized. Every single one of you should be beyond reproach – NOT immune to the consequences of wrong doing whilst strutting about like high school jocks.
And do not make assumptions about me. It takes bravery to speak out. I do have a significant level of experience and knowledge as to these issues. One of my ex partners IS former RUC and not a deskbound one either. As such, I know of his sacrifices and experiences and that of others, I am grateful for the police force when they act as they should and respect the bravery of those that adhere to the moral and professional code of conduct they bound themselves to observe upon taking up the badge. But in my experience the policing as a whole in this province is still seriously flawed and I will speak out about it to promote change as is my right.
And yes, the alternative is – IMPROVEMENT, since you asked. Any police force that does not strive for enhancement of its civil duty delivery and believes themselves and it’s individual members to be untouchable, irreprehensible, unaccountable and operates on a ‘one rule for the public a different set of rules for us’ is nothing short of tyrannical and morally bankrupt. And I for one do not accept that yoke.
Sorry if you don’t like that. The truth hurts.
I mean realistically, how seriously do you think the public are going to take the authority of an organisation brimming with incompetence, corruption, bigotry, members who think nothing of colluding with paramilitaries, officers who utilize public trust in order to gain sexual gratification, often with vulnerable people, even minors?
If you served, you 100% KNOW that it is not just a few rotten apples, just as most people in NI know. If you truly believed that you would not be using language in such a way that clearly attempts to minimise it. That’s largely why you are hated en masse.
And as for bringing the subject of cops being killed in front of their children…I absolutely abhor any such events. But I’m also aware your organisation is in all probability likely responsible for its fair share of the deaths of innocents, not to mention the trauma of thousands. Hence the name of the article.
Trying is not adequate policing. You do your job and do it properly or do not take up the gauntlet at all.
Interesting, what motivates one to comment. I, like all my red blooded brethren who visit are here because one might deem it a “thinking man’s titillation- well written erotica, courtesy of a woman who clearly demonstrates her intelligence in those and her other writings. I had considered commenting on this or that story but didn’t want to appear to simp for the author’s approval. I can’t however refrain from commenting on the woeful comment by “baconbap” -Your allusions to the honour of other officers who hate the bad apples- It’s a pity that disapproval fails to translate to their exposure and expulsion more often, wouldn’t you think? But no- We know the silence and ass covering is rife within policing, almost everywhere. You speak of the sacrifice of murdered officers and dare challenge the author- She isn’t besmirching the dead- In fact, the rotten, not bad apples, are the ones who diminish the sacrifice of the fallen, and you sir also do. Were your organization more rigorously self-policing, pardon the pun, it would not fear criticism or cross examination. Were it, and you within it, more able to stand up to scrutiny and accusation, the words of one wronged woman writing on the internet would be bearable, and not worthy of such an intellectually haphazard diatribe as yours. To Samantha/Lady Sheba, From what I read, you’ve been incredible. Thanks for sharing the good and the bad. Most of us appreciate it.
I am very moved by your support. I cannot deny I shed tears. I am glad to know it is not just I that sees that things must change. And I know it is not just myself that has been affected by the policing system here.
My voice is small, my reach not that noteworthy to the world. But to be silent in the face of obvious failures by those in authority when you know first hand the harm it causes cannot be borne.
The attitude of Bacon Bap is not rare amongst the ranks unfortunately. It is not always the case but to quote Lord Acton,
‘Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.’
Safeguards and policy need to be in place to prevent that in policing. Time and time again the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland demonstrates just how weak their scope of power is in relation to PSNI wrongdoing.
So the public continues to suffer.
As ever, I shall continue to write about all the things that capture my interest and imagination. It pleases me very much to know that you enjoy reading. Thank you.
Lady S
A famous wizard once said “Not all tears are an evil”, but I’d rather you didn’t shed a single one. I shouldn’t have had to comment. That said, You’re obviously ruffling feathers. Nice work.
Thank you Mon Capitaine 😉