The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is the police service that covers Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary, created on Sunday, November 4 2001, as a result of a Policing Review set up under the Belfast Agreement. This agreement, which helped to end the Irish Republican Army's three-decade-long violent campaign against the Union of Northern Ireland and Great Britain, required the creation of an Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland, which became known as the Patten Commission after its chairman, Chris Patten.
The PSNI has a policy of recruiting 50% of its officers from a Roman Catholic background and 50% from a background other than Roman Catholic. The name and symbols of the organisation, are designed not to alienate either community. The badge features the saltire of St Patrick, and six symbols representing different and shared traditions: a crown, a harp, a shamrock, scales of justice, a torch and a laurel leaf. It is supervised by the Northern Ireland Policing Board.
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