Policing the Troubles and Post Conflict Northern Ireland : The Service Speaks

This book is focussed upon the policing environment of Northern Ireland, especially directed towards that the late 1960s to 1998, often referred to as ‘The Troubles.’ It is comprised of a number of unique contributions by former and serving senior police officers from both the RUC and the PSNI, as well a number of chapters from academics.

This book is focussed upon the unique policing environment of Northern Ireland and is especially directed towards that period of time from the late 1960s to 1998, often referred to as ‘The Troubles’, when the police faced an unprecedented and lethal threat from both addressing and being victims of terrorist violence. The book is comprised of a number of unique contributions by former and serving senior police officers from both the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), as well a number of chapters from academics. This book makes a unique contribution to policing scholarship because of two key factors; firstly amongst the authors there is Sir Ronnie Flanagan who as chief constable of the RUC (1996 – 2002) is widely credited as having led the police through the monumental change process following the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) of 1998 that ended most of the violence and the subsequent 1999 Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland (the "Patten Report"). The book also contains a chapter contribution from Sir Hugh Orde who as chief constable (2002 – 2009) of the PSNI successfully led the subsequent transformation of policing in Northen Ireland. Finally, the book contains a critical reflection of the chapter contributions, the lessons learned and most importantly their relevance for policing Northern Ireland now and in the future by the current chief constable of the PSNI, Jon Boutcher (2023 - ). The second key factor is the relevance for the police now and in the future, not just in the United Kingdom but internationally, of those hard learned lessons in policing during terrorist campaigns and what they tell us about law enforcement more generally. This book will be of interest to policing professionals, criminology scholars, counter-terrorism specialists, and policy makers across the world engaged with police reform.