‘Border regions losing faith in PSNI’ – Murphy

Local Sinn Fein MP Conor Murphy has warned the PSNI that more must be done to retain the confidence of people in border areas.

Speaking after a meeting with Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Martin and District Commander Pauline Shields, Murphy said people were losing faith in the PSNI’s ability and willingness to tackle crime in the border region.

“What we are hearing loud and clear from people in the community is that there is a perception that criminals are operating with impunity in the south Armagh/north Louth region,” he said.

“Every week the papers are full of reports of diesel dumping, livestock thefts and car thefts.

“People are telling us that what they want to see is arrests, faster response times and greater cooperation with the Gardai because the perception is that criminals are effectively being protected by the protocols which govern policing in the north, in particular the way the PSNI respond to reports of criminal activity.

“These same criminals then feel confident enough to threaten and attempt to intimidate SF elected representatives and any other members of the community who stand up to them.”

Newry Armagh MLA Megan Fearon added, “While it is the Tories who have imposed austerity cuts to public services it is the PSNI who are responsible for scrapping Neighbourhood Policing in south Armagh.

“This fundamentally undermines the process of building confidence in policing and the work of the PCSP, as does policing in a militarised fashion. The people of south Armagh want accountable, reliable, community policing.”

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Posted by Newry Times News on Feb 27 2015. Filed under Community, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry