Recent visit to Belfast Royal Academy

I had the pleasure of revisiting one of my old schools last week. I had been invited to speak with a group of sixth formers, all of whom happened to be girls. 

I had been invited by Eddie McCamley, my former history teacher. Although no longer teaching, he now spends his retirement assisting the school to connect with former pupils.

I'll not tell you exactly what year I left Belfast Royal Academy, but it was lovely to be back and as I walked through the school it brought back many old memories.  Belfast Royal Academy is the oldest school in Belfast, established in 1785 in what is now the Academy Street area.  It moved to its current site on the Cliftonville Road in 1880.

I had only been at the school up until 3rd year, as it was known then, but living at the time at the top of the New Lodge Road, during some of the most troubled years, it was a sanctuary for the many young people who went there.  I noted the diversity of the school now, and it was great to see young people from a wide range of cultures and communities learning together in an atmosphere of tolerance and respect.  

I was reminded of the day that there was trouble in the area and the Headmaster of the time personally walked my sister and I along the Antrim Road to make sure that we got home safely.  I was more concerned about being seen under the escort of the Headmaster than being harmed by any trouble that was going on.  On reflection I was very grateful to him for such care and consideration.  It was perhaps an indication of a teacher's standing at that time that he could march us unscathed down the Cliftonville Road towards home. 

I had been asked to share my career experiences with the group of girls and then to take some questions.  It always amazes me how interested, informed and challenging a group like this can be. Their questions were refreshingly direct, frank, insightful and thoughtful. 

One thing that was clear , there was an appetite amongst a number of them considering a career in policing.  They were interested to hear more about when we will be recruiting, what the selection criteria would be and what was required during training.  I was able to let them know that we would be seeking to recruit again in the near future.

They also asked about balancing a family life with a policing career and how I had coped with the various challenges over my 31 years policing experience.  I was able to reassure them that despite all the challenges, past and present, I did try to live a relatively normal life outside of the day job. 

It was lovely also to catch up afterwards with the Headmaster, Mr Dickson, and to share reflections on our school days.  In this regard it is important that I pay tribute to those teachers who had such an important influence on me, both at Belfast Royal Academy and later at Regent House School, Newtownards in my formative years.  We sometimes forget what an important and influential job teachers have, in particular those who work so hard across communities to bring children together in an atmosphere of understanding and mutual respect.  Such early investments, I am convinced, can have long term rewards.

Remembering the victims and the people of Boston

The sympathy of all right thinking people will be with the people of Boston at this time and in particular those who have lost family and friends and those who have been seriously injured.

The presence of so many cameras and 'live time' reporting brings the devastation, terror and tragedy of these attacks right into our living rooms.

It's only natural after such an horrific attack that people start to think about major sporting and other events which could become targets for similar acts of terror.  The Metropolitan Police have been working hard to reassure competitors taking part in the London Marathon this week in relation to their security plans and of course we have our own Belfast Marathon coming up in just a few weeks time.

Sadly we are very used to planning major events in a style which fully considers the reality of a terror attack.  All these events will be risk assessed and a proportionate policing operation put in place consistent with the risk.  However, the possibility of an attack by terrorists is always a consideration not just on the event itself but on the police resources facilitating it.  This is just a reality of policing Northern Ireland in the face of a severe terrorist threat.

I want to reassure you that over the next few months during the G8 Summit, World Police and Fire Games, UK City of Culture and other major events, we will be continuing to plan with contingencies in mind.  We will also be working, in so far as is humanly possible, to ensure that competitors, spectators, officials, volunteers and police officers are safe and feel safe.  Recent arrests and the recovery of firearms and explosives show our very clear determination to do so.

It is vitally important that we also have your support.  You are our extra set of 'eyes and ears' as you go about your normal daily business and we rely on your support to keep people safe.  I know this will not deter you from your plans to participate in sporting and other major events in the future, and your encouragement of those who have worked so hard to organise these fantastic spectacles is so important.  I am sure that the people of Boston are as determined as ever to show that they will not be deterred by these attacks, just as we have shown in Northern Ireland that neither will we.

15 years on from the Good Friday Agreement

 

If you have been listening to the news this morning, I am sure that it will not have escaped your notice that today is the fifteenth anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement - 10th April 1998.

 

One of the major success stories of the agreement has been the evolution to a policing service that is much more representative of the community. And whilst there are still major challenges, the environment in which we now work and support we have from communities across Northern Ireland means we are able to develop our focus on policing with the community, working in partnership with our local communities.

 

It is appropriate to pay tribute to those in the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC who paved the way for such changes and to the many who helped deliver them. We are today a very different police service from that of 15 years ago.

 

I look forward to reading The Community Relations Council's latest '2013 Peace Monitoring' report in detail when it is published later today. One of the headlines being used ahead of publication is 'Northern Ireland has most difficult year in decade'. From a policing perspective, I can say that it has certainly been one of the most challenging years for the Police Service of Northern Ireland. We have a great deal of experience in dealing with many and varied challenges, but the protracted nature of recent challenges have been particularly difficult.

 

We have of course still the G8 Summit, World Police and Fire Games, the UK City of Culture and the All Ireland Fleadh ahead of us. We will be working very hard with communities and partners to successfully and safely deliver these major events.

 

There is absolutely no doubt that Northern Ireland has been transformed since 1998. We still have some way to go and recent events have shown that there is still much 'unfinished business' of the peace process. By way of one example, this afternoon I will chair the PSNI Legacy Group, a monthly meeting to monitor and manage the PSNI's legal responsibilities to respond to the legacy of the past - and whilst relatives of those killed during the Troubles want and deserve answers to their questions, the absence of any agreed way forward on the past continues to place a significant burden on the time and resources of your Police Service.

 

I am an optimist, if I wasn't I would have very clearly picked the wrong job. As a police officer you have to believe that tomorrow can be better and perhaps as we all reflect back to where we were 15 years ago we can see that the optimists were right.

 

Your Police Service has delivered much and whilst we do not get it right all the time the increase in community support, coupled with greater confidence and lower crime figures, has all been delivered against the backdrop of an ongoing terrorist threat and very significant operational challenges. I believe this demonstrates our determination to deliver the very finest personal, professional and protective policing service possible.

 

If we all continue to work together to build on the progress of the past 15 years, potentially the next 15 could be every bit as significant.