Northern Ireland Policing Board

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The Northern Ireland Policing Board is the Police Authority for Northern Ireland, charged with supervising the activities of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. It is composed of members of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and independent members, all of whom are chosen by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Although it is entitled to nominate members, the board is being boycotted by the second-largest party in the region, Sinn Féin, as it claims that the recommendations of the Patten Commission have not yet been implemented in full. [1]

At a public meeting in north Belfast in the summer of 2005, SDLP chairman Alex Attwood estimated that 80% of the recommendations have been implemented, although a British diplomat speaking recently at a public meeting in Washington, D.C. admitted it was as low as two-thirds. Sinn Féin also claims that the board has no real control over the police, as it can make recommendations, yet it cannot enforce them. In 2004, the U.S. envoy to Northern Ireland, Mitchell Reiss, accused Sinn Féin of "posturing" over the issue. [2]

Hardline unionists, particularly members of the Democratic Unionist Party have hotly disputed Sinn Féin's right to appoint members to the Police Authority because of its alleged links with the Provisional IRA. Ulster Unionist Party member Fred Cobain was reported as threatening to resign from the board if moves were made in order to make the board more acceptable to Sinn Féin. [3] Recently, the British government has announced that the DUP will be allowed a greater share of nominees (in line with its increased share of votes), to the chagrin of the other parties on the board.