Loyalism in Development

There is some limited data on the paramilitary affiliations of life prisoners for a period of time during the conflict. According to Steve Bruce (1992, p.298), the following information applies to paramilitary life-sentence prisoners between 1974 and 1990:

• PIRA – 136; • INLA – 15 (Total republican – 151); • UDA – 64; • UFF – 5; • UVF – 107; • RHC – 23; • Other loyalist – 14 (Total loyalist – 191); • No organisational affiliation - 37

It should also be noted that there were 61 prisoners ‘Detained at the Pleasure of the British Secretary of State’ who were under 18 years of age. The data indicates that the UVF had almost twice as many prisoners serving life sentences during this period than the UDA. UVF/RHC prisoners were known as the ‘invisible battalion’ within the organisation (Mulvenna, 2016). Prison release was a crucial, though controversial, aspect of the 1998 Good Friday/ Belfast Agreement (supported by 31% of Catholics and 3% of Protestants at the time, see NILT, 2000; Mitchell, 2008). To date 450 paramilitary prisoners have been released under the Agreement - 196 Loyalist, 242 Republican and 12 non-aligned (Dwyer, 2007; McEvoy and Shirlow, 2009). Prisoners were released under the Agreement on ‘license’ – which meant if they reoffended in any way, they could be rearrested. But it should be noted that more than 15 years after the Agreement, less than 5% of these politically motivated former prisoners have returned to prison for politically motivated offences (McEvoy, 2015). This compares to the reoffending (recidivism) rate of ‘ordinary’ criminals in Northern Ireland which is approximately 50%. Organisations such as EPIC (Ex-Prisoners Interpretative Centre), REACT and the ACT initiative provide support to former UVF and RHC prisoners to assist them in transitioning away from the structures of armed groups. Former UVF and RHC prisoners have also played constructive roles in promoting restorative justice practices as part of the work of Northern Ireland Alternatives. The first organisation to support loyalist prisoners however was the Orange Cross which was established in 1966. The Loyalist Prisoners Welfare Association (LPWA) also played a significant role in supporting loyalist prisoners, both during their time in prison, and also upon their release.

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