Irwin expresses concern at Keady Police Station closure | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

Irwin expresses concern at Keady Police Station closure

Newry & Armagh DUP Assemblyman William Irwin MLA has spoken of his concern following the Policing Board decision to permanently close Keady Police Station in South Armagh. Mr Irwin, who was a vocal advocate of retaining the South Armagh station, said the decision to close the facility would “send the wrong signals” to criminals.

Speaking to Newry Times, Irwin stated, “I responded to the consultation and spoke to many people on the issue of the station’s future. There was a very good attendance at a special DPP meeting in the town a few weeks ago where support for the station was very high, that vocal and visible support encouraged me. The Keady station has not been fully operational for a period of months however, the PSNI had plans for its continued use should the go ahead be given for it to continue as an operational base.”

“This station is in a strategic location in the area,” the DUP man continued, “And I really feel it could have been put to good use especially as local support for the station was there. The decision to close it in my opinion sends the wrong signal to criminal elements and could be seen as a relaxation of security. I know people in the area will be saddened by this news and of course we think of the many officers who made the ultimate sacrifice for law and order in this area during the darkest days of the troubles.”

He added, “It is unfortunate that the Policing Board has taken this decision and I hope that in its place extra resources will be ploughed into this district to enable officers to respond to rural crime and the very real terrorist threat that has been manifesting itself in recent months, indeed no later than last weekend when a massive bomb was abandoned in the constituency.”

Short URL: https://newrytimes.com/?p=13100

Posted by on May 10 2012. Filed under Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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