Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000: review of temporary recruitment provisions
The temporary 50:50 recruitment provisions ended on 28 March 2011; the Secretary of State noted that he was minded not to renew the temporary recruitment provisions.
Some 10 years after the introduction of the provisions, a significant proportion of serving officers – currently 29.76% - are now from a Catholic community background. This is at the top end of the critical mass identified by Patten. It represents a tremendous change since the time of the Patten report when only 8.3% of Royal Ulster Constabulary officers were from a Catholic community background.
2010 also saw the completion of devolution, with policing and justice powers transferred from Westminster to the Northern Ireland Executive. With this transformation in the composition of the Police Service Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland’s continued political progress, the use of these special measures can no longer be justified.