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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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RUC
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(Royal Ulster Constabulary)
The police force in *Northern Ireland, which in the past three decades has had a high profile in the front line against *terrorism. It is the oldest police force in the United Kingdom, descending from the original 'peelers' set up by Robert *Peel in Ireland in 1814 and organized on a more thorough basis by his Constabulary Act of 1822 (it was not until 1829 that he established the metropolitan police in London). The 'peelers' became in 1867 the Royal Irish Constabulary and subsequently in Northern Ireland, after 1921, the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
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Since 1969 the British army has been in Northern Ireland to support the RUC in its difficult task of policing the province, but this unusual role for a British police force has had differing and controversial results - reflected in two contrasting events early in the new century.
The RUC was awarded the *George Cross for its courage in the face of exceptional danger, reflected in the high number of police deaths (this is only the second time the George Cross has been awarded other than to an individual, the first instance being *Malta).
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But at the same time the government made plans to change the force's name from the Royal Ulster Constabulary, as a concession recognizing (in the spirit of the *Northern Ireland peace process) the deep-rooted suspicion among many in the Catholic community of a force composed in the past almost exclusively of Protestant officers. The proposed change of name was inevitably resisted with a sense of outrage among many of Ulster's Protestants.
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