The battle to save the RUC from the recommendations of the Patten proposals poses a test of the Britishness of Ulster Unionists, the UUP security spokesman, Mr Ken Maginnis, said.
He told delegates to unite around the UUP's efforts to retain the name and insignia of the RUC and not to be afraid of the "posturing DUP" or "Sinn Fein/IRA".
"The battle over how society here is to be policed is a test of our Britishness. I call on each of you to work, to help, not hinder, and most of all to hold your nerve until we've won."
A motion passed unanimously by the conference on Saturday dismissed the Patten recommendations as a threat to national security and criticised the establishment of district partnership boards containing Sinn Fein representatives as a blueprint for mafia regimes at local level.
Proposing the motion, the UUP Assembly spokesman on policing, Mr Michael McGimpsey, criticised the Patten report for its "scant and fleeting" acknowledgement of the sacrifice paid by RUC officers and their families, with 302 killed and almost 9,000 injured over the course of the Troubles.
"The RUC has been society's shield for the last 30 years and it would be an act of folly to lower the guard until you are certain that the danger has passed.
"We cannot be certain that the danger has passed until we are convinced that the paramilitary organisations are committed to exclusively peaceful means. The tangible proof of this is the decommissioning of illegal weapons but so far we have not seen so much as the rust of a single gun," added Mr McGimpsey.
The continuation of so-called "punishment" attacks by the paramilitary groups showed their "addiction to violence". He said change was not something to be frightened of but it must be constructive change that enhanced the ability of the police to carry out their duty.
Numerous delegates spoke on the topic and many urged fellow party members to launch a letter-writing campaign to the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair.
The UUP has formed a six-member working group, which is currently drafting alternative proposals to the Patten report, and it is expected to produce a document shortly.
Mr McGimpsey said preliminary findings of the report would state that changing the name of the force to the Northern Ireland Police Service had "no operational justification", and replacing the badge was "irrational". To forbid Union flags from flying over police stations amounted to a "repudiation of the Belfast Agreement and the principle of consent".
Party delegate Mr Trevor Wilson described the Patten report as an "utter disaster" that had let down pro-agreement unionists. He said the proposed plan of 50/50 Catholic and Protestant recruitment, aimed at boosting the number of Catholics, was "sheer nonsense" and flew in the face of fair employment law.
Ms Anne Little said she rejected the "republican agenda" of the Patten report and said the RUC should not be used as a social welfare service.
Mr David Burnside said the Patten proposals were centred on the objective of de-Britishising the North. "The recommendations to destroy the name RUC, the insignia, the identity, the morale of the Royal Ulster Constabulary are the objective of the republican movement."
He added that the party leadership should make this campaign its "bottom line" because "if we lose this one we have lost an essential part of the union".
Party member Mr Gerry Douglas, an ex-member of the RUC reserve, said the party had been correct to reject the report. "When I saw Patten on television the day that he introduced it, I said to myself, `is this the same man I saw with tears on his cheeks when he rolled up the Union Jack in Hong Kong?' I don't think it's causing him any problems doing what he is doing here."
Ms Irene Cree urged each delegate to write a letter of protest to Mr Blair and then to contact friends in Scotland, England and Wales, so they could do likewise. "It only costs 19p and a few minutes."
UUP Assembly member Ms Arleen Foster said the changes to the insignia and the name of the force were the "fundamental issues" but she also objected to the establishment of district partnership boards.