Research published earlier this summer by the Community Relations Council in Belfast has found that, by the age of three, Catholic children in Northern Ireland are twice as likely as their Protestant counterparts to say that they don't like the police.
The reason? Until recently the police force was perceived as a predominantly Protestant body. Last year, however, its name was changed from the Royal Ulster Constabulary to the more neutral-sounding Police Force for Northern Ireland in a bid to recruit more people from a Catholic background.
But it may take more than a few years before the significance of such a move filters down to have an impact on the awareness of young children growing up in Northern Ireland, if the findings of the first-ever in-depth study into their attitudes and prejudices are anything to go by.
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