The British government is being urged to extend for another three years the remit of the man tasked with monitoring police reform in Northern Ireland.
Oversight Commissioner Tom Constantine's three-year term of office ends in May 2003, but the SDLP said the British and Irish governments need to give him another term to see his task through.
SDLP Policing Board member Eddie McGrady, MP, said he was calling on both governments to ensure the office of the Oversight Commissioner remained "with continuing levels of resources, support and terms of reference."
Mr Constantine has produced a number of reports detailing the introduction of reforms in policing as recommended in the Patten Report.
He has expressed disappointment at the slow pace of many reforms.
Mr McGrady said Mr Constantine's work was important on three fronts. "The complexity of policing change is so vast that it requires external overviews to ensure momentum. "The Oversight Commissioner has been in office for two and a half years but the Policing Board has existed only for a year.
The Policing Board has done momentous work in its first year but further substantial work is required and the Oversight Commissioner provides the external check to guide and inform the Board's conduct."
He said Mr Constantine should remain in office with no reductions in power or role for the extra three years permitted under legislation.
"This can build confidence in policing change, measure the pace of change in real terms and anchor police performance in a time of potential turbulence," said Mr McGrady.
PA