Policing

Irish News today has a page one and five exclusive by Sharon O’Neill revealing that because of a police blunder a senior Orangeman is to escape prosecution over his role in alleged Public Order breaches at the Whiterock Parade July 2003. The police had recommended prosecution after it was reported that paramilitary flags were displayed and band music played in contravention of a parades commission ruling. After an investigation Nuala O’Loan, the Ombudsperson, has “blamed the breakdown on both “human …

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An interesting twist to the Northern Bank robbery….Apparently the Provos are selling £100,000 in stolen notes for £33,000 in genuine notes to criminal gangs including Loyalists. KilsallyIT Technical Manager for a CCTV company in the UK & Ireland. Christian, Orangeman, Unionist. Webmaster of Ulster-Scots Online. Occasional blogger on Slugger O’ Toole. Eurosceptic. @Kilsally www.ulster-scots.co.uk

Steven King reckons that policing may provide some of the meat in this year’s battle between the UUP and the DUP: Who would deny that the logic of a republican transition from terror to democracy is IRA members, albeit without convictions, one day patrolling in the PSNI green uniform? Presumably not the DUP who remained studiously silent on that point when Millar’s book was first published in November. Do the DUP understand this logic, and was their silence perhaps due …

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Breige Gadd is concerned that the move by journalists and other commentator’s toward open season on the IRA, compromises a crucial principle in British justice, the right to remain innocent until proven guilty (subs needed). Hat-tip Oilibhear. The standards inherent in British justice and its processes have been centuries in the making and have rightly become a standard bearer for the rest of the world. Of course there have been times when courts and their associated officers including the police, …

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First we should start with a snippet from Tom Kelly, a member of much maligned Policing Board: If we continue to sacrifice the political process on an altar of compromise on the issue of paramilitary driven criminality, policing will never be able to provide the service expected of it and the paper tiger will not be the board but the entire criminal justice system. Elsewhere in the Irish News, Kelly is more direct: By Tom Kelly: Gene Kerrigan and Pat …

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Another day, another avalanche of comment on the cupability or otherwise of Sinn Fein in the recent Northern Bank heist. Anyone suffering from indigestion yet? No, then we’ll continue shortly. Although I’ll try to leven it with the odd other tidbit I can pull in – your own suggestions are welcome on an email, or in the comment zone below! Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and …

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Vincent Browne argues that the Northern Bank heist is a drop in the ocean compared to what the banks have stolen from their customers over the years. But he argues if there is a conviction forthcoming, it will go badly for Sinn Fein, whether they knew about the action in advance or not. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular …

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Here’s the next twist in the story. Neil Mackay reckons the IRA didn’t do it!: “The Striker is close to Italian mobsters, and was schooled by Valerio Viccei, the mastermind of the 1987 Knightsbridge safe deposit robbery which netted an estimated £62m”. Ahem. Let’s see how this one runs, especially so shortly after the Cheif Constable went public with his suspicions! Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics …

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Jimmy Burns in the FT says that British and Irish officials recognise the need for police to produce evidence to back up their allegations in the next few weeks. However this is likely to be problematic. Much of the activity associated with the heist took place in a committed Republican area, and as the Oversight commissioner notes in his latest report, there is no support for the police in such communities. Ergo, the police face a demand for evidence that …

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BELOW is most of the political reaction to the accusation by Chief Constable Hugh Orde that the IRA carried out the Northern Bank robbery…Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness continues to insist that the IRA was not involved in the heist. He said: “Hugh Orde’s comments today are nothing more than politically biased allegations. He has not produced one scrap of evidence. Within days of the robbery at the Northern Bank, and following media speculation and PSNI briefings, which suggested IRA involvement, …

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Amiguity is not the sole preserve of politicians. Despite the claim by the Northern Bank that it “is to replace its entire current series of notes“, the statement issued by the Northern Bank goes on to make it clear that only some of those notes will be re-issued.. the more expensive (to produce) £5 notes “will not be affected”.. hmmm.. I wonder why that is? – oh, and it’s now the £26.5million heist. Pete Baker

Hugh Orde is expected by all and sundry to point the finger at the IRA later today as the prime movers behind the Northern Bank heist. However don’t expect any early outcomes. Whatever Hugh Orde says now will be of little consequence until there is clear evidence one way or the other. But given the enormous scale of the heist, it’s unlikely to disappear from police radar for a very long time to come. Update: Blair gets heavy too. Update …

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Courtesy of Newshound – Writing in The Village, Suzanne Breen, one of the more direct voices in our little pond of journalists, sets out what her sources, some named and some, understandably, unnamed, are telling her about the Northern Bank heist.. nice comment on ‘Imelda’, BTW.As Suzanne Breen points out, despite the fact that – There is no doubt among IRA members on the ground that the paramilitary group was responsible for the heist. “Everybody here knows the IRA did …

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Steven King examines some of the speculation around who did the big bank job last week, and suggests the most worrying aspect of it is that some journalists appear to be ahead of the police in terms of their investigation. King himself believes that in the absence of a definative denial from the IRA, it will continue to remain the chief suspect. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on …

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According to David Lister, British security officials are briefing journalists that the Northern Bank heist was the work of the IRA. So far there has been no word from Hugh Orde or any official within the PSNI, but such a line, he speculates, must be causing some severe embarrassment within police circles. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest …

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No doubt it seemed like a good idea at the time.. and it probably is.. but I’d suggest they’re regretting the choice of location. BTW.. love that line Borrowed from the Garda Siochana in Dublin for two days.. Do the DUP know about this? Pete Baker

If it’s not bank robberies.. it’s hijacked lorries. I wonder who’s responsible for this one? (I’m not joking about that heading either.) Pete Baker

PEOPLE in Northern Ireland feel crime is on the increase, and our biggest concerns are speeding traffic, drug dealing and teenagers hanging around on the street (although that isn’t actually a crime yet). A new NIO report on our perceptions of crime notes that many people’s impressions seem strongly influenced by the media. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com

As I mentioned the other day, the issue of the devolution of policing powers was, effectively, pushed to the side in the ‘comprehensive’ proposals. Today, in the Newsletter, DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson is more explicit than he was in the Belfast Telegraph article; claiming a DUP veto on the devolution of policing powers.In an article that is, primarily, a response to criticisms from UUP leader, David Trimble, he states – “The DUP did not even endorse the Government’s date …

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