Policing in a Divided Society: A Study of Part-time Policing in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is a society inflamed by deep religious and political divisions which have divided communities and nurtured an active terrorist campaign lasting many generations. This book explores how part-time police men and women, living and working in society fulfil the tasks of policing divided communities. An analysis of the attitudes of members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary Reserve, many of whom work over 30 hours a week on paid policing duties, is outlined. Their family and social backgrounds, their attitudes towards policing and toward the range of social and political issues that currently confront Northern Ireland, is also detailed. This study provides an insight into the problems of policing a society where the communities are divided about the legitimacy of the state and the states's approach to the maintenance of law and order.