Welcoming the start of the World Police & Fire Games 2013

I have spent the last two days at the World Police and Fire Games (WPFG) pre conference at Titanic in Belfast. It was a privilege forBelfast to host over 200 local and international visitors to discuss ‘Partnerships in Safety; Building Safe & Just Societies’.

It’s hard to believe that almost six years after Northern Ireland bid to host the World Police and Fire Games, that the day of its opening is finally here.  All we need is the sun to come back for a few hours!

Over the next ten days, nearly 7,000 competitors, from 66 countries will compete in 56 sports across 41 venues.  The atmosphere and anticipation are absolutely fabulous and if you have been in and around Belfast City over the past few days, the streets are alive with local people in WPFG regalia alongside international competitors and their supporters wearing crested team clothing from across the globe. 

I have already visited a number of locations to speak to the WPFG staff, who have been working around the clock to deliver the Games – a number of them have been involved right from the bidding stage.  I have also spoken to many of the 3,500 volunteers who have given of their time, free of charge, to help us make sure that all the competitors are supported and assisted and that all the sporting events run as planned.  I want to particularly thank them for the fantastic work which they are doing – without them the Games simply would not have been possible. 

If the Ice Hockey, which has been running from last week, is anything to go by, everyone including our competitors and spectators are in for a real treat.  I am really looking forward to getting to visit as many of the events as I can over the coming days and also to taking part in a few of them myself!

The Games is just one of a number of high profile events which Northern Ireland has hosted over the past few years.  This is yet another opportunity to put Northern Ireland and Belfast on the international stage for all the right reasons. Over the next few weeks I hope that you will make all our visitors very welcome..

All Games information is available on the WPFG website at www.2013wpfg.com where you can select a sport and find out everything you need to know including a detailed schedule of each event and a venue map.  You can also follow the Games on Facebook www.facebook.com/2013WPFG

and Twitter www.twitter.com/2013WPFG

So why not come along and show your support to your local police officers, fire fighters and prison officers as they compete for Team Northern Ireland.  This is your chance to experience the third largest sporting event in the world and the first ever time the Games have taken place in the United Kingdom. 

Spectating is free and there are some unique events you will not find in any other Games, so why not plan to be a part of the ‘friendliest Games’ ever.                 

Public disorder will solve nothing

I had very much hoped that I would not be blogging about public disorder six days after the 12th July.

The role of the Police Service of Northern Ireland in policing sensitive parades is not to question or query the determinations of the Parades Commission but to uphold the rule of law, and to police the determinations proportionately and resolutely.  Thankfully the severity of the disorder has reduced but every night since the 12th your Police Service, supported by colleagues who have joined us under mutual aid, have been faced with disorder to some degree. 

Seventy one police officers have been injured, 3 of whom are from GB.  Attacks on police officers are totally unacceptable and I thank those, from all quarters, who have publicly condemned these.   Each of these attacks has a human cost to the officers and to their families and colleagues.  A range of missiles, including blast bombs and 120 petrol bombs, have been used against police.  We have arrested sixty eight people and I was appalled to be told that amongst these were a 12 and a 13 year old child - I appeal to parents to be responsible and know where their children are at all times, in particular late at night and during periods of disorder.

The courage and professionalism of the officers who have been engaged on the front line has been outstanding.  There are those who have criticised the police tactics and in such cases where people feel a genuine sense of grievance, I would encourage them to report their complaint to the Police Ombudsman.   However when people are stripping walls of coping stones, climbing onto landrovers and attempting to thrown these down onto the top of police officers it is entirely reasonable to take proportionate steps to protect life.   Police officers have human rights too.   You may have seen the police equipment we put on display to the media a few days ago which showed the damage to police helmets and shields.

I want to pay particular tribute to our GB colleagues who have assisted us under mutual aid arrangements.  I have personally spoken , as has the Chief Constable, to many of them over the past week.  They have in some respect been making history as they are the first ever deployment of mutual aid to Northern Ireland, apart from G8. They have worked alongside PSNI colleagues and their contribution has been outstanding.  Ironically this is the first time many of them have been in Northern Ireland and the number who have said that, apart from the disorder,  they have enjoyed a warm  and sincere welcome and  that they have been amazed by the beautiful countryside  to the extent that they intend to come back and visit at some stage in the future.

Over the next few days, and in the run up to Saturday, I very much hope that tensions will reduce and that those of influence will re-double their efforts to ensure that the public disorder ends .  I thank all those involved in working to reduce tensions in sensitive areas.  This will help ensure that your police officers can return to their normal duties and concentrate on those issues which matter most to communities.

Public disorder will solve nothing and only serves to divide communities even further.  We have all worked far too hard to allow this to happen.

Preparing for G8

I spent yesterday out and about, with the Chief Constable, in Fermanagh and Armagh to see for myself the various venues and get an idea of the scale of the G8 Summit and policing operation.  Until you actually visit some of the venues it is hard to get a sense of the need for such a huge policing operation.

We also had the opportunity to talk to, and thank, many of the 3,600 colleagues who have come from policing services in Great Britain to support the operation.

There is no doubt that this is an unprecedented policing operation and on top of the safe delivery of the G8 Summit your police service also has to deliver on normal day to day policing business which will continue in the background.

I was very impressed by the way so many of my police and staff colleagues have worked together to deliver the infrastructure necessary for such a challenge.  Their determination, resilience and professionalism has been truly outstanding.  Much of the infrastructure is temporary, and has been put in place over the past few months, and the operation will continue for sometime after the Summit to dismantle this.

What I saw yesterday reinforced my sense of pride in a truly great organisation of amazing people.  Many organisations plan for years to deliver an event of this scale but we have only had a few months to plan, prepare and deliver. 

In an international event of this scale involving the world leaders, we have to accept a level of disruption.  However, it is also a huge opportunity for Northern Ireland and for County Fermanagh in particular.  We want this Summit to showcase the very best of Northern Ireland.  For our part, we will certainly be doing everything we possibly can to minimise disruption and to make sure the world leaders, their delegations and the world’s media  take away positive and lasting memories of their visit to Northern Ireland.

If you want to keep up to date with all the information relating to the policing of G8 you can follow us on Facebook or twitter

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Launch of Rural Crime Unit at Balmoral Show

Yesterday morning I had the pleasure of visiting the new venue for the Balmoral Show at the Maze site near Lisburn. I would like to congratulate the organisers for what is an excellent venue and show.

My primary reason for being there was to jointly launch the new Rural Crime Unit with the Minister of Justice, David Ford. The very last thing farmers need right now, with everything else that is going on, is to suffer loss or damage at the hands of criminals.

The Unit, with financial support from the Department of Justice and NFU Mutual, will enable the Police Service to dedicate resources to focusing exclusively on rural crime. The Unit will liaise with police across Northern Ireland to provide a co-ordinated response to this issue. There are many initiatives to help and protect the farming community already in place and this new Unit is a very welcome development. It will provide additional support to farmers and assist us in directing resources to where they are needed most. To find out more about how to prevent rural crime visit http://www.psni.police.uk/directory/crime-prevention/farmyard_security.htm or contact your local Crime Prevention Officer who will be very happy to provide you with information and advice.

In stark contrast not that far away from the Show, terrorists were in the final stages of mounting a murder attempt on police officers who, like their colleagues at Balmoral Park, were out in the community delivering a service and working to keep people safe. Thankfully the officers were uninjured but those who carried out this attack showed a blatant disregard for the safety of those who live in that area. When you see images of bullet holes in parked cars it shows not just what a lucky escape local residents had, but also the recklessness of the terrorists. There is no such thing as a responsible or acceptable attack on police, but this attack was particularly indiscriminate. However, despite this potentially murderous attack, those officers and their colleagues are back out again today, undeterred, supporting and protecting communities.

Whether it’s preventing rural crime or detecting those responsible for acts of terror, your support is critical in the form of information and reporting suspicious activity. Our desire, and ability, to provide the finest personal, professional and protective policing service is greatly enhanced when the police and communities work together. With your help and support we will continue to make a difference.

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.