ABSTRACT
Changes to the po l i c ing o f N o r t h e r n Ireland have been h ighly controversial. M o s t security functions are n o w undertaken by the Pol ice Service o f N o r t h - ern Ireland ( P S N I ) , formerly the Roya l Uls ter Constabulary ( R U C ) . A n Independent C o m m i s s i o n o n Pol ic ing , chaired by Chr i s Patten, was established under the G o o d Fr iday Agreement, leading to the creation o f the P S N I . In some border areas the police are sti l l assisted by the Br i t i sh A r m y . T h e A r m y ceased urban patrols by 1998, but is st i l l occasionally redeployed i n such areas i n times o f h igh tension. A s examples, the A r m y returned briefly to the Shank i l l area o f Belfast i n 2000 dur ing a Loyalist feud and was deployed i n N o r t h Belfast i n 2001 as a response to over 50 p ipebomb attacks u p o n C a t h o - lics du r ing the first m o n t h o f that year.
