NI: More Catholics reporting crime to police

Just as many Catholics as Protestants are reporting crime to the police in Northern Ireland, a new survey claimed today.

According to a poll conducted by District Policing Partnerships in the North, 80% of Catholics questioned who were victims of crime and 81% of Protestants reported it to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

The survey also revealed 31% of Catholics were very satisfied with the PSNI’s response and 38% were satisfied, with just 10% unhappy at their treatment and 7% very unhappy.

Among Protestants, 25% were very happy with the police’s treatment of their case, 37% satisfied, 13% dissatisfied and 7% very unhappy.

The findings were released as unionists, moderate nationalists and the British and Irish governments waited for Sinn Féin to join them in publicly endorsing the PSNI.

Sinn Féin has so far refused to do so because they insist police reforms do not go far enough.

They also want a definite date for the transfer of policing and justice powers from Westminster to a new devolved department in Stormont.

The Rev Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionists have insisted Sinn Féin must publicly endorse the PSNI and declare republicans will uphold the rule of law if power sharing is to be restored next March.

Gerry Adams, however, has not yet been able to recommend to Sinn Féin’s national executive that there should be a special conference to review the party’s policy on policing.

Nationalist SDLP Policing Board member Dolores Kelly, whose party has been an enthusiastic supporter of the new policing arrangements, said the survey’s findings showed Sinn Féin was out of step with its community over the PSNI.

“These results show Sinn Féin are behind the times and behind the nationalist community,” the Upper Bann Assembly member said.

“Communities are crying out for the police to be able to tackle crime in their area and they are already engaging with the PSNI even though Sinn Fein won’t urge them to do so.

“In my own constituency, local people on the Garvaghy Road in Portadown worked with the police this week over an initiative to ensure local children have proper lights on their bicycles. That is a measure of the progress that has been made.

“On a more worrying note, we also had an 83-year-old man burgled by a gang in Lurgan and the community has been in contact with the police about that.

“There has been a sea change in policing over the past five years. There is still more work to do and the Oversight Commissioner’s reports illustrate that.

“However there is no doubt that by and large officers are making a difference. Sinn Féin needs to get wise to that.

“There is going to be an increasing focus over the next few years on community policing which will also have an impact. All officers will be affected by that and it will not be the preserve of just two or three in a station.”