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Policing remains a touchy subject in Northern Ireland

Mark SimpsonCommunity correspondent, BBC News NI
EPA Two police officers walking down a street, just before a bus shelter. They are wearing the green uniform of the PSNI. They have protective vests which have Police in capital letters on the back. EPA

Walking around Belfast with a microphone and asking people to talk publicly about policing is a revealing experience.

It highlights how just sensitive policing remains in Northern Ireland.

Few people wanted to discuss it, with "touchy subject" a regular response followed by a hasty swerve away from the microphone.

As the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) marks its 25th anniversary, it is clear it does not operate in a conventional society.

Deep political divisions remain, and the past casts a shadow over the present after the 30-year conflict known as the Troubles.

Historically, there has been much more support for policing from the Protestant/unionist community than from Catholics/nationalists.

The decision to create a new police service, in the aftermath of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, was an ambitious attempt to provide a new beginning to policing.

Although built on the existing force (the Royal Ulster Constabulary), there was a change of name, uniform and insignia.

Prof Joanne Murphy is pictured above ground level in a university setting/building. She is wearing a green jacket and white top with a long gold chain with a block at the end. She has dark hair which is lighter at the ends.
Prof Joanne Murphy said the PSNI was the most successful institutional outcome of the Good Friday Agreement

Prof Joanne Murphy has co-authored a book entitled Policing Northern Ireland: Leading Through Crisis and Change.

She said the PSNI had scored well in public opinion research.

It has "sometimes 79% levels of acceptance within the Northern Ireland community in general".

"That is lower for the Catholic community, whenever you look at some of the stats, it falls down to something like around 63%," she added.

"But that's still, in terms of policing internationally, pretty good numbers."

Assessing the PSNI as a whole, Murphy said it was "by far the most significant and the most successful institutional outcome of the Good Friday Agreement".

Stephen Maxwell is standing next to a tree with autumn-coloured leaves. On his left is a hire bike rack, and a glass building is behind him. He is in a black jacket and has dark hair. He has blue eyes and is smiling at the camera.
Stephen Maxwell said there was "no chance" of him joining the police

To try to gain a sense of the opinions among young people, I stood outside the Students Union of Queen's University Belfast for more than an hour.

Only a handful of people were prepared to share their views.

Stephen Maxwell said the PSNI seemed to be "understaffed in places".

Asked if he would consider joining the police, he said: "Not a chance, I would prefer to be a professional soccer player."

Katie McShane, editor of the newspaper The Gown, said she would like to see the PSNI do more to protect homes in student areas from burglaries.

David Best, a history and politics student, said the police had "a very hard job in Northern Ireland". It is not his chosen career path.

A number of others who spoke mentioned the recent fly-on-the-wall BBC TV series Peelers, which shows the PSNI in action. They said the programme increased their appreciation of the job done by police officers.

How big a threat do officers face?

Anyone joining the police in Northern Ireland knows they may not be able to wash their uniform and hang it outside to dry in view of their neighbours.

Many officers feel they need to keep their job a secret, to protect their personal security.

Framed pictures of officers in uniform are often kept at work rather than at home.

The hope had been that by 2026 the job would be less dangerous.

However, officers are still under threat from very small armed groups which are opposed to peace.

Known as dissident Irish republicans, they refused to accept the peace deal contained in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

There have been a number of attacks aimed at the police this year.

Although dissident republicans are extremely small in number, and lack the capacity for a full-scale violent campaign, they have deadly intent.

Challenges over the next 25 years?

Security expert Brian Rowan believes the next quarter of a century will be as important, if not more so, than the past 25 years.

Rowan, a former BBC NI security editor, has written extensively about policing over the past four decades.

Looking to the future, he said: "For those who join the PSNI, new policing is not having to look under your car in the morning to see if there's a bomb there.

"It's not having to hide your career, it's not having to leave your community to live elsewhere.

"That's going to require leadership, demand leadership and it's about much more than the police."

Providing a more peaceful and stable society is easier said than done.

Rowan said: "It's not just about what the police have to do over the next 25 years, it's about all of us. What is the political contribution to the new policing project?

"How do we put the past to rest with some respect?"

Brian Rowan is standing in a street, with some bins and cars on the right. There are some pink flowers and a shop front on the left. He is wearing a red tie, blue shirt and a tweed jacket. He has a grey goatee beard.
Security expert Brian Rowan has written extensively about policing

Questions remain about policing in Northern Ireland but at least one key question has been answered in the past 25 years.

In spite of the doubts back in 2001, it has been possible to create a new police service with much broader support.

The PSNI has a level of political acceptance and community engagement that few imagined would have been achievable.

Some thought it might have been mission impossible.

More obstacles lie ahead, but the PSNI is now established and well used to a challenge.