People do not decide to become extraordinary… They decide to accomplish extraordinary things

I was delighted to have had the opportunity to speak at a number of events last week. Two of these were almost exclusively female audiences, made up of senior representatives from organisations spanning the public and private sectors.

Hannah Shields was the keynote speaker at Friday’s Visible Women event being run by Ards and North Down Borough Councils. Hannah, from Kilrea, was the first ever women from Northern Ireland to conquer Mount Everest. She has a quite remarkable and fascinating tale of personal perseverance, determination and passion to achieve her own personal goal.

We can all think of at least one person who has influenced or inspired us - a parent, friend, colleague or complete stranger. Perhaps, not surprisingly, Hannah referred to Sir Edmund Hilary who said: “People do not decide to become extraordinary. They decide to accomplish extraordinary things.”

When we actually think about it, every single one of us has our own personal challenges to overcome. And whilst very few of us will ever climb Mount Everest, every day ordinary people achieve extraordinary things.

People who give up their own time to work in communities as volunteers for example. People who work with children and young people who may be at risk.

Perhaps one of the biggest life challenges is to be a parent. You can train for months and then undertake a physical challenge, but sons and daughters are for life. As parents we are extremely powerful people - and although sometimes we may not think it, our potential to influence our children is a lifetime one.

Whilst most crime is committed by adults, and often young people are victims of crime, unfortunately as a Police Service we all too often come into contact with children or young people who have become involved in criminality or have been drawn into risky situations by their peers.

Recent incidents of public disorder are a prime example. Of course, not everyone involved in the disorder was a young person, and it was clear that there were individuals seeking to influence younger people and place them at real risk in these situations.

Our desire is not to criminalise young people. Where possible and appropriate, we want to give those who have been caught committing crime another chance.

Most importantly, we need the support of parents to prevent young people getting involved in risky situations in the first place. Make sure you know where your children are and who they are with. Young people also need to recognise that their actions now can have a significant impact on their future.

I certainly want a future Northern Ireland free from violence, fear, discrimination and division for my children.

Together we can make real progress towards achieving that goal.

Success, challenge and support

On Monday last week, the Police Service of Northern Ireland collected two National Pay Roll Giving Awards, Best Public Sector and Best Overall UK Campaign, at a reception at HM Treasury in London.

On Thursday last week, your Police Service was recognised at the Jane’s Police Review Gala Awards in London.

Sergeant Brian Caskey was awarded third place in the Community Police Officer of the Year category, Inspector John Kinkead came second in the Lifetime Achievement in Policing Award and the Unite Against Hate campaign was awarded third place in the Diversity in Action Award.

These successes contrast sharply with the attempted murder of three police officers on Friday evening, as they were carrying out their normal duties – duties their colleagues were recognised and rewarded for carrying out the previous evening.

Terrorists once again showed their complete disregard for the safety of not just the police officers they clearly wanted to kill, but anyone who might have been in the area at that time. The device used was a military type grenade designed to fragment on detonation and kill anyone within a ten-metre radius.

Shrapnel was recovered over a large area and was found embedded in the shutters of local premises.

Thankfully none of the officers were seriously injured. One officer had to remain in medical care and underwent a series of operations on his arm, but I am delighted to report that he was released from hospital earlier today.

I know that all right thinking people will join with me in wishing each of the officers a full and speedy recovery.

These officers were out delivering a service to the local community, responding to a call for assistance from a local shop owner who had been robbed. They were carrying out an investigation to identify the person responsible and ensuring that the local community was protected from serious harm.

Our success in winning a variety of national awards is further recognition of the professionalism, determination and generosity of your police officers and staff who work daily in a truly unique and very challenging policing environment.

No other police service in the UK operates in a policing environment like Northern Ireland. And to be the only police service to pick up three awards, together with the Payroll giving award was a truly outstanding achievement.

Friday evening could have so easily had a different outcome. Police officers, local people, including young people and children in the area at the time of this attack could have been seriously injured or killed.

Our investigation into the robbery and attempted murder is ongoing and we are determined to identify those responsible.

I appeal for your support, not just in this investigation, but for the officers who day and daily continue to deliver a personal, professional and protective policing service despite the significant challenges.

Wear it Pink

Tomorrow (29 October) the Police Service is supporting the Breast Cancer campaign 'Wear it Pink’.

Every year, thousands of loved ones are affected by breast cancer. Having lost somebody very special to me through Cancer, I am delighted that all across the Service, police officers and staff are wearing something pink in support of this very worthy cause.

Obviously police officers, in uniform, will be limited as to the degree of their pinkness Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK and accounts for nearly one in three of all cancers in women.

At around 12,000 deaths annually, it is the second biggest cause of death from cancer of women. Alarmingly one woman in nine will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.

But did you know that men can also suffer from breast cancer and, although it is rare, almost 300 men (in the UK) are diagnosed each year and around 90 men a year die from breast cancer.

The good news is that survival rates for breast cancer have improved significantly over the last 20 years and the most recent figures show around 80 per cent of women in the UK diagnosed today will be alive in five years time.

The increased survival rate is largely due to increased awareness of breast cancer, the introduction of the screening program and the successes of breast cancer research, which have led to improved treatments that are now available.

This is just one example of the long tradition of very generous charitable giving by the Police Service of Northern Ireland. In fact very recently we won a National Pay Roll Giving Excellence Award in recognition of the number of police officers and staff who donate monthly to a nominated charity of their choice.

You won't often read about the generosity of police officers and staff in the media, but just as we tangibly deliver a police service every day of the week, in the background we also financially support those who need help and support of a different nature.

So I hope tomorrow you will join with your Police Service, family members, friends and colleagues to 'Wear it Pink’.

Engaging with local communities

With my daily commitments, regrettably I don’t get the opportunity to get out and about and meet members of the public as often as I’d like to.

However, last night (Thursday) I was in Craigavon, which is a busy and challenging policing environment, to meet with members of the local District Policing and Community Safety Partnerships.

Members were there at the invitation of the local District Commander, Chief Superintendent Alasdair Robinson, to hear more about the challenges of delivering a personal, professional and protective policing service on a daily basis.

Perhaps one of the most impactive presentations of the evening was a snap shot of the late duty shift (4.00pm – 12.00midnight) on 22 February 2010. It would take too long to rehearse every detail but during this time police officers across ‘E’ district (Armagh, Banbridge, Newry and Mourne and Craigavon) were dealing with 93 different incidents. In fact, across Northern Ireland in the same shift there were 581 incidents – that’s just over one reported incident every minute.

Within ‘E’ District these ranged from reports of antisocial behaviour, six people missing, thefts, suspicious vehicles, road traffic collisions, a substantial illicit drugs factory – and in the background, the district call management centre were carefully considering and prioritising each call to ensure an appropriate level of response based on the risk to the caller and the risk to the police officers attending.

In the middle of everything else that was going on, at around 10.00pm, a bomb call was received to Newry Court House and immediately, significant resources needed to be reprioritised to deal with this incident. At 10.37pm the bomb exploded whilst police were still clearing the area.

What the Commander, and his colleagues, had to say last night was important - but the purpose of the evening was as much about listening to the representatives present.

We fully acknowledge the importance of listening to you and your elected and community representatives –after all policing is a partnership. As we move towards considering our policing plan for next year in partnership with the Policing Board, we need to consider what you see as your policing priorities and concerns for the year ahead. We also need to listen, learn and act when your experience of policing falls short of your expectations.

We face challenges daily in every district across Northern Ireland. However, I have used the example from E District to illustrate the diversity of incidents which may occur.

We want to deliver a quality police service for everyone – and we will continue to work hard to do that, in spite of all of the challenges we face.

Your support and assistance is critical to making sure that we work effectively, which in turn allows us to have the right people in the right place at the right time to deliver the personal, professional and protective police service that you quite rightly require and deserve.

For the next generation

Last week I joined with young people, parents and teachers, at LismoreCollege, to celebrate the academic success of the future generation of Derry.

As I addressed those present, I spoke about their future opportunities and their aspirations for a City which has so much to offer.

On Tuesday morning, terrorists once again attempted to shatter that future. In the early hours, police officers worked against the clock to make sure residents and visitors to the City were kept safe from the actions of those who yet again showed a complete and total disregard for the safety of others.

Thankfully the two police officers who were caught up in the blast were not badly injured, no thanks to those whose reckless intentions were only ever going to kill, maim or destroy.

The damage caused to tourism and investment in the City is difficult to measure. The money required to repair the damage will probably run into millions; money that will not now be available to reinvest back into the local area which so badly needs it.

As I listened to the words of condemnation from local people, visitors, elected representatives and business owners it is so difficult to understand why people, no doubt some of whom live in the City, would inflict this terror and misery on their own doorstep, when there is so clearly no appetite for it from the vast majority of local people.

The police officers who stepped out to save life on Tuesday morning in Derry didn’t stop to ask people who or what they were and nor do they, as they go about delivering a personal, professional and protective policing service every day across Northern Ireland.

Your Police Service continues to work tirelessly, night and day, to bring those responsible for such actions to account. I know that there are people who are aware or suspect who these people are and this information is critical.

Once again, I appeal for your support. Help us before another life is lost and another community shattered.

Nobody deserves this. If you don’t do it for yourself, then do it for the next generation.

A day to Remember

Last Sunday I was privileged to join police colleagues from across the United Kingdom and representatives from An Garda Síochána, for the National Police Memorial Day at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.

The annual service is held on the nearest Sunday to the 29th September to coincide with Saint Michael's day, the patron Saint of Police Officers and rotates around England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

National Police Memorial Day was established in 2004 to remember police officers who have been killed or who have died on duty, to demonstrate to relatives, friends and colleagues of fallen officers, that their sacrifice is not forgotten and to recognise the dedication to duty and courage displayed by police officers.

Last year there were eight police officers who were died on duty. Six of the officers, two from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Constable Gary Grieves (46) and Constable Gareth Gallagher (22), three from the London Metropolitan Police Service, D/Sergeant Iain McLay (42), Constable Sean McColgan (37) and Constable Daniel Gibb (25) and one for Wiltshire Constable Michael Johnson (46), died whilst making their way to or from duty.

Constable Daniel Cooper (22), Wiltshire Police, died in a road traffic collision whilst responding to a call for assistance from colleagues and most of us will remember the tragic death of Constable William Barker (44) who was swept off a bridge in Cumbria during the floods of last November.

It was a very emotional service with thousands of people from various forces and counties, public representatives, colleagues, family members and friends, standing side by side to remember and honour those who have given their lives in the service of others.

Policing by its very nature is a dangerous occupation. Every day, across the United Kingdom, police officers put themselves in harm's way to protect the communities whom they serve from serious harm.

No Police Service understands this more so than the Royal Ulster Constabulary in the past, and the Police Service of Northern Ireland at present.

Police officers walk towards danger when others run away. Over the years police officers here, through their quick thinking, resourcefulness, and administration of first aid have saved the lives of many ordinary people from burning homes, frozen lakes and canals, heavy seas, mountains and snow, whilst putting their own lives at risk.

Only last week a local councillor, in West Belfast referred to police officers who attempted to save a man from his burning home as ‘heroes’. The officers suffered smoke inhalation as result of their attempt to rescue the man.

The police service is often referred to as a ‘family’ and there is no doubt that there is a unique bond between police officers and their families, regardless of where they serve.

The public owe a great debt of gratitude to the men and women, officers and staff, who work tirelessly, in very difficult circumstances to deliver policing across the United Kingdom.

The challenge to us all is to never forget that sacrifice. As the act of remembrance says “We will remember them”.

No compromise on the things that matter most

There is absolutely no doubt, as the Government undertakes its’ spending review, that the Police Service of Northern Ireland will be asked to make efficiencies just the same as every other Police Service across the United Kingdom.

In some respects, the PSNI is ahead of the game. In response to the findings of our own Strategic Review, we have critically examined how we do our business to identify how we can use our people and resources to best effect.

The concept of efficiency and effectiveness is very clearly enshrined in one of our Chief Constable’s five strategic principles: ‘Resources and time focused upon genuine operational delivery. Ensuring we have the right people in the right place to prevent harm, protect from danger and inspire confidence.’

We have already delivered over 400 additional police officers to frontline policing and we are determined to identify more ways to reduce bureaucracy, push for further criminal justice reforms and ensure that our officers are more visible, in more places, for much longer, and are focussed on the things that matter most to local communities.

We are a unique police service, policing a unique environment. This makes us all the more determined to continue to influence Government, locally and nationally, to secure an appropriate level of funding which will allow us to meet the increased threat from terrorists head on, and to deprive them of the opportunities to murder, wreck and maim that they seek.

We will do our absolute best to deliver on the agreed targets in our Policing Plan, and to ensure that there is no policing vacuum that others will seek to fill.

Later this year we will expand on those targets to develop a series of Policing with the Community commitments. Once completed, we will deliver information about the commitments to every household in Northern Ireland. These commitments are simply about 'delivering the basics well' in areas that are important, such as, keeping people informed, visibility and accessibility. A mechanism to ensure that we deliver a personal, professional and protective policing service.

Regardless of what financial pressures come our way, we will not compromise on those things that matter most. We will continue to tackle serious harm, whatever form that might take, we will continue to work with other agencies to help protect the most vulnerable in our communities and we will seek to provide the personal Police Service that we all want and deserve.

We can make a difference but only if you continue to give us your complete and active support.