Nuala O'Loan has left her job as Police Ombudsman after seven often turbulent years and all eyes are now on her successor, former Canadian Mountie Al Hutchinson.
There will have been sighs of relief and smiles in many quarters when Nuala O'Loan left her office for the last time on Monday.
Her opponents, unionist politicians and a collection of former and serving police officers, were glad to see the back of a woman they have accused of trying to undermine the reputation of the RUC.
They hope Al Hutchinson will be a different story, a fresh start.
Their collective fingers are crossed that the former Police Oversight Commissioner, the man who was responsible for monitoring the implementation of policing changes recommended in the Patten Report, will treat the PSNI as a new entity and spend less time looking backwards.
Events from the past accounted for many of the headlines during Nuala O'Loan's time at the helm.
Reports stating that there had been collusion between police officers and loyalist paramilitaries during the Troubles were viewed by nationalists and republicans as proof of long-held beliefs.
While there were many unionists and former police officers who were horrified by what they read, there were also many who said the reports were biased, that they failed to take account of the context of the time and the fact that normal policing rules couldn't apply when they were engaged in a war against terrorism.
Critics were also deeply unhappy that while the past activities of the RUC were being scrutinised, there was no equivalent process for the IRA and other republicans, no pressure on those who murdered more than 300 police officers, to account for their actions.
Nuala O'Loan's response is simple - she had no choice.
Shortly after she took up her post in November 2000 her remit was changed, giving her the power to investigate allegations of past wrong-doing by the police.
"These involved allegations of collusion and cover up in murder, matters that could not be ignored and matters that it was my statutory duty to investigate. My critics never seemed to get to grips with that," she explained.
Those critics may have taken some comfort from Al Hutchinson's own words. In his last report as police oversight commissioner, published in May this year, he included a section entitled - A Choice: Policing the Past, or Policing the Future?
The title clearly suggests he believes it is a choice between the two, either police the past or police the future, not both simultaneously.
He went on to say that, in his view, policing the past was "hindering the forward progress of policing."
He added: "I do not have a magical solution or elixir, I wish I did. I do know that organisations such as the Historical Enquires Team and the Ombudsman's office are blunt instruments too narrowly focused to use in a search for truth and justice for societal challenges.
"While they are simply doing what is required by mandate and law, they raise expectations that cannot be met, and distract from the task of finding a societal resolution to the past."
So the new Police Ombudsman has himself stated that his office is a "blunt instrument" when it comes to dealing with the past.
Many of those who criticised Nuala O'Loan for investigating the past hope those comments signal a change in direction.
But it's not that simple. Nuala O'Loan may have left office, but many of the investigations started during her stewardship are continuing and they include enquiries into past events, and some could be hugely controversial.
They include investigations into the Claudy bombing which killed nine people in 1972, where the government, RUC and Catholic Church have been accused of conspiring to cover-up the activities of a Catholic priest who was a member of the IRA bomb team.
"As long as the Ombudsman is engaged, as required by law, in expending so many resources on determining accountability for past policing issues, the office cannot properly focus future challenges, on the present and future"
Those investigations will be completed in the near future and it will be Al Hutchinson who will have to deliver the verdict.
He may do so in a different style, with more gentle language and tone, but many of those who have privately heralded his appointment may not like what they hear.
And it may not stop there. As the law stands, the Ombudsman has a duty to investigate allegations of collusion and police wrong-doing in the past and if Al Hutchinson is to fulfil his statutory duty, he will have no choice if serious allegations are made.
Perhaps the long-term answer can be found in other words from his last report in May, when he stated that "as long as the Ombudsman is engaged, as required by law, in expending so many resources on determining accountability for past policing issues, the office cannot properly focus future challenges, on the present and future".
Investigating the past wasn't part of the job specification when Nuala O'Loan took up her post, but was added later.
Could it be that the government will change the remit again, removing that requirement?
That would remove the problem of the past from the Ombudsman's office, leaving him to deal with current complaints against the PSNI.
The problem with that approach is that nationalist politicians believe holding the police to account for their past activities has been the most successful aspect of Mrs O'Loan's work, and one they do not want to end.
It may be a few weeks before Al Hutchinson publishes his first report and makes his first major statement as Police Ombudsman - Nuala O'Loan's fans and opponents will be watching and listening very closely when he does.
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