To Serve Without Favor

Police conduct throughout the long conflict in Northern Ireland has given rise to serious allegations of human rights abuses. The emergency regime imposed on Northern Ireland by the British government invests the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) with expansive police powers to stop, question, search, arrest, detain, and interrogate persons merely suspected of terrorist activity. Human Rights Watch charges that the emergency legislation itself gives rise to substantial violations of human rights and urges its repeal.