Agreement Reached in the Multi-Party Negotiations - Transitional ...

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Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 which provides a statutory exception for employers to address any lack of fair participation through affirmative action and to do so, where appropriate, in consultation with the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland’. 287 That the sectarian issue is very much at the heart of plans for affirmative action is clear: The Government, as an employer, is also committed to promotion and deployment on the basis of merit and suitability and, like any good employer, it does not and indeed could not lawfully take the private religious or political views of individual employees into account in making such decisions’. 288 The police service, the Policing Board, the Police Ombudsman and the Northern Ireland Office were eventually designated bodies for the purposes of section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The police should contract out the recruitment of both police officers and civilians into the police service. There should be lay involvement, including community representatives, on recruitment panels. 289 ‘Merit must remain a critical criterion for selection for the police service. We do not propose that religious or cultural identity, gender or ethnicity should be treated as a makeweight for merit’. 290 This does not acknowledge practices in the past and at which may continue at subtle/subliminal levels. The Committee on the Administration of Justice does not accept the merit argument which ‘betrays a very simplistic notion of the concept of merit that fails to appreciate the culturally relativistic nature of the term…a police service can only hope to achieve the trust and confidence of the whole community if it is representative of the whole community. In these circumstances, requiring officers to be members of a particular community in order to ensure representativeness is we believe a valid one’. 291 An equal number of Protestants and Catholics should be drawn from the pool of qualified candidates. 292 We have consulted the Fair Employment Commission about the proposal above and we have taken an opinion from counsel on the legal position. We are advised that, although the proposal would require an amendment to domestic legislation, it is not incompatible with European legislation, so it is possible to make the requisite amendment to the law. Regrettably, the legal position is not the same in respect of recruitment of women, where European legislation clearly rules out such a proposal. This position has been countered by the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition: We would suggest that if domestic legislation is not contravening the spirit or the purpose of the European Equal Treatment Directive 1976, it is possible that it may not be held to be in contravention of the Directive. EC proposals on other legislation may place religion in the same position, legally, as gender is now. Provisions for increasing the numbers of women at senior level should have been highlighted. Introduction of part-time work, job sharing, career breaks, flexible shifts, childcare facilities. 293 While these are important, recommendations targeted at women are mainly 287 Implementation Plan Update 2001 288 Ibid. 289 Recommendations 117, 118 290 Recommendation 120 291 CAJ Commentary on Recommendations in the Patten Report 292 Recommendation 121 63
linked to women with caring responsibilities, not the only concern of women. The Implementation Plan only accepted the childcare provision in principle and suggested research to see how practicable this was. All officers – those now in service as well as all future recruits – should be obliged to register their interests and associations. The register should be held both by the police service and by the Police Ombudsman. 294 While the report stresses the sectarian nature of secret organisations such as the Orange Order, it does not acknowledge sexist attitudes within them. Their ‘exclusivity’ is viewed negatively in sectarian terms. While this is a failing at least the register may reveal details of ‘old boys networks’, although the register itself 295 is currently under legal challenge and judicial review. Preoccupied with sectarianism, the report failed to see that addressing sexism could also address, indirectly, important aspects of sectarianism. Standard training for neighbourhood officers should include modules on such community problems as domestic violence, child abuse, rape, drugs and youth issues and this training should be updated as necessary. 296 To cater for increased diversity in the police force, the maintenance of a neutral working environment should become an assessed management responsibility at all levels of management. 297 Community policing is recognised as the core function of the police service and neighbourhood policing teams should be empowered to determine local priorities and set their own objectives. 9.8 Post Patten: The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) The Police Service of Northern Ireland came into being on the 4 th of November 2001. The service consists of approximately 13,600 staff both police and civilian support. PSNI polices a population of 1.7 million covering 13,576 square km across Northern Ireland. 298 9.8.1 PSNI Draft Equality Scheme 293 Recommendations 122, 123 294 Recommendation 126 295 Groups registered were: The Ancient Order of Hibernians, The Apprentice Boys of Derry Association, Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Ireland, The Independent Orange Order, The Knights of Columbanus, Loyal Orange Institution (including the Women’s Orange Order), The Royal Black Institution; any organisation proclaiming/holding views on race, ethnicity or national dentity which may be perceived to be in conflict with Section 32 of the Police (N.I.) Act 2000 and Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998; any other organisation which the officer believes may question his/her impartiality. 296 Recommendation 146 297 Recommendation 156 298 The operational policing of Northern Ireland is organised into three geographical areas-Urban, North and South Regions. Each region is commanded by an Assistant Chief Constable. The regions are divided into District Command Units (DCU) aligned with District Council areas with the exception of Belfast, which is further sub divided into Belfast North, South, East, and West. Altogether there are 29 DCU’s. Each District is commanded by either a Chief Superintendent or Superintendent depending on population size. Supporting the Police Service there are a number of departments based at various locations across Belfast. They are Supplies and Information, Human Resources, Crime, Operations, Media and Public Relations, Corporate Development and Internal Investigations. PSNI Draft Equality Scheme 64
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Women and the Implementation of the
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5.5 Women Victims Post the Good Fri
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Women’s Rights in Transitioning a
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language of the Agreement) this was
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An overall assessment of the succes
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1. RESEARCH 1.1 Sources Primary doc
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2. MAIN FINDINGS The main findings
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3. THE GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT In 199
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ecent history of communal conflict
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4. PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN PUBLIC
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Page 83 and 84: REFERENCES Bell, C. (2003) PEACE AG
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Page 87 and 88: ____ (2003) ‘New Era for Local Po
Page 89: ____ (2003) Peace Agreements As A M
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