Who could ever have predicted (with a straight face anyway) that policing reformers from around the world would one day look enviously towards a Northern Ireland police service and cite it as an example of publicly accountable, politically unshackled and operationally proficient policing? asks David Adams
Well, predictable or not, that's exactly what is happening.
And the reformers are right to be envious, for with the ongoing implementation of the Patten recommendations, within four years we have witnessed a complete turnaround in policing.
Fundamental changes to recruitment policy, training methods and policing practices have, culturally and operationally, helped make the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) almost unrecognisable from the old RUC.
As a result, policing has become a real career choice for young people across the religious, political and economic spectrums. And, better still, irrespective of what may happen on the political front, the root-and-branch reform of policing in Northern Ireland cannot be reversed, stalled or blown off course by inept politicians, or anyone else for that matter.
It will continue apace.
Driving policing reforms forward and standing guard over Patten's recommendations is a veritable pack of watchdogs. This includes an Oversight Commissioner to ensure the full and proper implementation of Patten; an independent Police Ombudsman with full powers to investigate complaints and other matters of public concern; and a Policing Board and 19 local district policing partnerships (DPPs) whose memberships are made up, in almost equal measure, of politicians and citizens. Among other things, the Policing Board and DPPs variously monitor, direct and hold to account the PSNI leadership at every level.
Alongside the police, they also prioritise policing objectives, set targets and help draw up regional and local policing plans that accurately reflect public concerns. And, as if there weren't enough watchdogs, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary makes periodic, and unannounced, visits to examine and help improve efficiency within the PSNI.
If, as seems possible, we do manage to bring the whole political edifice of the Belfast Agreement down around our ears, at least the PSNI will remain as a partial testament to how worthwhile the whole project has been.
But the policing story in Northern Ireland isn't made up entirely of good news. Despite the sustained efforts of innumerable people (not least, many RUC and PSNI officers) to deliver modern, accountable policing, the communities have yet to play their full part.
No matter how good a service may be, policing can only be fully effective if the critical mass within a society accepts its share of responsibility by actively and openly supporting the police, and by being willing to work with them to fight crime.
They can do so by reporting crime, providing evidence against the perpetrators and by collectively creating conditions where criminal activity is no longer allowed to flourish unchallenged.
This still isn't happening to any real degree in Northern Ireland. This can be, and invariably is, explained away by referring to the painful history of policing in Northern Ireland and the continued presence of paramilitary groups. But, though undoubtedly true to some extent, is this really the full story?
Let's imagine for a second that any future reform of the Garda is precisely in line with the Patten recommendations on policing. That, in effect, a carbon copy of the PSNI complete with watchdogs, is created in the Republic. What impact would this have, for example, on the situation in Limerick?
Would it suddenly be no longer necessary to move serious criminal cases to Dublin for trial?
Would people there feel safe enough to come forward to the police with witness evidence and be prepared to stand up in court (in Limerick or anywhere else) and recount that evidence?
Of course not, but perhaps Limerick is something of an extreme example.
Consider then, any urban area within the Republic or Britain with no history of political opposition to the police and little in the way of organised criminal gangs, whether paramilitary, drug related or otherwise. How much of the responsibility for tackling crime and helping the police do its job is accepted by the general populace in areas like that?
The truth is very little.
For even in places where it is perfectly safe to do so, a critical mass of society does not seem to accept, or possibly even realise, it has a clear responsibility to do all it can to help the police?
Continuing reform of the police is vital to the wellbeing of any society, but no matter how successful it might prove to be, it can never be a magic panacea. Policing on its own can never solve the problem of crime. Until we begin to accept the responsibilities of citizenship that go along with the ever-increasing list of rights we are so eager to claim, the best we can expect is that the police manage to hold the line against the criminals.