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| NEWS > 19 November 2006 |
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 Article sourced from
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The Sunday Times - UK
19 November 2006
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Police winning over republican
EVEN as Sinn Fein agonises over whether to sign up to policing as part of the St Andrews agreement, the Police Service of Northern Ireland seems to be winning its battle for hearts and minds in the republican heartlands of South Armagh.
In the Newry and Mourne policing command area, 97 locals have applied to join the police as part-time officers after a PSNI open day in August. In January the first 10 successful applicants will go on patrol.
Chief Superintendent Bobby Hunniford said: “We were told we would never fill the vacancies, but 37 of the applicants were Catholics and a number of others seemed to be from nationalist backgrounds though they put down “no religion” on the application form.
“They came from right across the area, some from Newry. Unfortunately we only had 42 vacancies so many of them were disappointed.”
The first 10 part-timers can expect co-operation from the public, even in republican heartlands once designated by British forces as “bandit country”. In the past year police have had 1,637 calls from Crossmaglen and Forkhill asking for assistance, or reporting crime. The figures are particularly startling given that the villages have less than 2,000 people between them. There were 256 recorded crimes in the villages last year.
In South Armagh at least 58 RUC officers and 124 British soldiers were killed during the Troubles.
“The sort of calls we get are a sign of increased confidence,” said Hunniford, who is the district commander for Newry and Mourne. “They would be about everything from cows on the road to serious crime. Some require preventative action rather than arrests, for instance anti-drink driving operations.
“People are now prepared to contact the police when there is trouble. For many, it is the first contact they will have had with the police and it is important we react appropriately.”
The figures have come as a surprise to republicans. Anthony Flynn, a Sinn Fein councillor from Forkhill, said: “That seems an awful lot of reported crime. I don’t think there is a greater willingness to go to the police.”
Geraldine Donnelly, an SDLP councillor who lives a mile outside Crossmaglen, detects a lingering fear among some locals at being associated with the police.
She said in the past there was “fear and apprehension” about going to the police, but “that attitude is gradually breaking down because people want normality”.
Sinn Fein’s attitude to the PSNI is still decidedly ambiguous. “Everyone recognises that we need a police force,” said Flynn. “We are up for it. But it has to be an acceptable police force.
“Negotiations are ongoing. It’s down to our leadership and we support them.” He believes that the next step will come when policing powers are devolved to local politicians at Stormont.
In the meantime he sees a role for the community-watch groups which have moved into the vacuum left after the IRA’s unofficial policing role fizzled out.
Hunniford says such groups have often arrived at crime scenes before his officers but fade away once police arrive. “In legal and practical terms they can’t investigate crime.”
However, he sees a possible role for such groups in the future — as members of them are well-intentioned — working with young people or victims through restorative justice schemes.
Packie McDonald, a Sinn Fein councillor who is involved in Dromintee Community Watch, said: “I agree with him (Hunniford) that there is no confrontation. There are 11 of these groups and they are there to prevent crime not solve it. No matter how good a police service you have it is not as good as five or six neighbours turning up to offer support. No police force can answer every call.”
Problems still remain for the PSNI, however. Crossmaglen and Forkhill are the only parts of the province where the force still patrols with British Army back-up, though that can only last until July when the army role in Northern Ireland ends.
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