mickyk200
01-10-2008, 03:19 PM
I took this from this week's Lurgan mail...Lurgan's local paper.
AFTER attending their first District Policing Partnership meeting Sinn Fein representatives have labelled the new policing plan for the area a farce.
Sinn Féin Craigavon District Policing Partnership representatives Michael Tallon and Mairead O’Dowd slammed the new draft District Policing Plan for being a product of the ‘old DPP’ and lacking in content.
Police defended the plan re-iterating this was just a draft and new ideas could be taken on board.
Mr Tallon commented: “The District Policing Plan should be a very important part of delivering effective and accountable policing in the area. It came as a shock therefore that the first draft of the new Craigavon District Policing Plan was brought to the first meeting of a newly constituted DPP without having been put on the agenda or giving anyone any prior notice.
“We also found it very hard to believe how the Area Commander could bring a draft plan to the first meeting of a new group without giving the new members of the group an opportunity to consult with their communities and an opportunity to have their own input into the plan. It is not acceptable that the new DPP was presented with a draft plan that only the old DPP had helped create.”
Fellow Sinn Fein DPP representative Mairead O’Dowd continued: “The other point we made was that the independent members haven’t even been appointed yet therefore the new Policing Plan should wait at least until that time. We also have serious concerns about the content of the plan itself. All it contains is a series of banner headlines accompanied by a few statistics. There is very little content and the whole thing from start to finish could fit onto one A4 sheet of paper.
“If the PSNI are seriously trying to suggest that this piece of paper is going to solve all our local policing issues then that is not acceptable to me or the people we represent. At the end of the day if the people don’t notice the difference on the ground then it doesn’t mean a thing.
Mr Tallon concluded: “The DPP’s have a very important role is bringing about change within policing for the better; however, only when other members of the DPP start to take their role seriously and stop rubber stamping and nodding things through, including other so-called nationalist representatives, will we begin to see the changes in policing we want to bring about. The PSNI need to realise that by going onto these boards that we mean business.”
A spokesperson for the PSNI responded to the Sinn Fein members’ comments, saying: "Police in Craigavon and right across Northern Ireland have a proven track record of engaging with District Policing Partnerships. They are extremely useful platforms for the Police Service and communities to find local solutions to local problems.
“The draft Policing Plan for Craigavon is described at this stage as a draft as it is not yet completed..." By Graeme Cousins
AFTER attending their first District Policing Partnership meeting Sinn Fein representatives have labelled the new policing plan for the area a farce.
Sinn Féin Craigavon District Policing Partnership representatives Michael Tallon and Mairead O’Dowd slammed the new draft District Policing Plan for being a product of the ‘old DPP’ and lacking in content.
Police defended the plan re-iterating this was just a draft and new ideas could be taken on board.
Mr Tallon commented: “The District Policing Plan should be a very important part of delivering effective and accountable policing in the area. It came as a shock therefore that the first draft of the new Craigavon District Policing Plan was brought to the first meeting of a newly constituted DPP without having been put on the agenda or giving anyone any prior notice.
“We also found it very hard to believe how the Area Commander could bring a draft plan to the first meeting of a new group without giving the new members of the group an opportunity to consult with their communities and an opportunity to have their own input into the plan. It is not acceptable that the new DPP was presented with a draft plan that only the old DPP had helped create.”
Fellow Sinn Fein DPP representative Mairead O’Dowd continued: “The other point we made was that the independent members haven’t even been appointed yet therefore the new Policing Plan should wait at least until that time. We also have serious concerns about the content of the plan itself. All it contains is a series of banner headlines accompanied by a few statistics. There is very little content and the whole thing from start to finish could fit onto one A4 sheet of paper.
“If the PSNI are seriously trying to suggest that this piece of paper is going to solve all our local policing issues then that is not acceptable to me or the people we represent. At the end of the day if the people don’t notice the difference on the ground then it doesn’t mean a thing.
Mr Tallon concluded: “The DPP’s have a very important role is bringing about change within policing for the better; however, only when other members of the DPP start to take their role seriously and stop rubber stamping and nodding things through, including other so-called nationalist representatives, will we begin to see the changes in policing we want to bring about. The PSNI need to realise that by going onto these boards that we mean business.”
A spokesperson for the PSNI responded to the Sinn Fein members’ comments, saying: "Police in Craigavon and right across Northern Ireland have a proven track record of engaging with District Policing Partnerships. They are extremely useful platforms for the Police Service and communities to find local solutions to local problems.
“The draft Policing Plan for Craigavon is described at this stage as a draft as it is not yet completed..." By Graeme Cousins