Acknowledging the past: defining the future

As the second anniversaries of Sappers Patrick Azimkar, Mark Quinsey and Constable Stephen Carroll approach, my thoughts are with their families and loved ones.

For the Police Service of Northern Ireland, although Stephen’s loss is never far away, his anniversary brings the stark reality of it to the fore once again. His family and colleagues will remember him in their own ways and through a series of events that reflect his character and his sense of duty.

Events of the last two weeks have also reminded us of the terrible loss that has been suffered by so many people in our small part of the world. Over the years of our troubled history there are so many people who have experienced this terrible pain and loss. Time has passed and huge progress has been made; but for many, the pain is still real and still raw.

As a community we have come such a long way. The peace process here has astounded people right around the world. We should not lose sight of how far we have travelled. But we must keep working at it. The path ahead is long and there are challenges that will make the journey difficult. Only by travelling the path together can we hope to make the journey successfully. We must do so conscious of each others’ past; acknowledging each others’ pain; and learning from each others’ experiences.

This is not easy. From my own perspective – the longer I serve as a police officer – the greater my realisation becomes of exactly how difficult this is. The challenge is immense; and it is humbling. But we must continue to work at finding a way to heal the hurt. We owe it to all of those who have suffered; we owe it to those for whom the grief remains raw; and we owe it to our children and their children.

For the community and for our political representatives; and for all other organisations in civic society; acknowledging and dealing with our past is one of the defining issues for our future.

On Wednesday night shots were fired at officers in Derry as they responded to a call about an abandoned vehicle. Two years after the murder of Stephen Carroll, Sappers Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey this latest attack serves as a cold reminder, that failure to acknowledge and learn from our past, creates a vacuum for those wishing to perpetuate the divisions we thought we had left behind.

The reaction of the community following the attack has been powerful, with community representatives commenting: “an attack on the Police Service is an attack on all of us”.

Despite the significant threat to their lives, my officer and staff colleagues remain committed to serving the community in which they work.

More and more people are rightly talking of “our police service”. The strength of this relationship would not have been achieved without the brave steps and hard work put in by both the community and the police service over the last few years. Our commitment to continuing this work remains absolute.