The Gown – student newspaper at Queen's University Belfast.

COMMENT: Paying for the past, Policing the future

‘Belfast is a fantastic example to the world….’

Add in as many superlatives as you wish and there wouldn’t be any we have not heard before. Now it appears that the ‘sitcheeation’ in Northern Ireland has entered that realm that we like to call our ‘annual stalemate’, which seems to happen as often as Man Utd release a new strip. This time though the reality is based solely on the fact that we simply do not have enough money to sustain a police force that will be sufficient and effective due to the ‘economic downturn’, another all too familiar phrase.

MARTIN FERGUSON

The recent release of figures regarding the PSNI response times and resources came conveniently before the announcement of the cuts to the policing budget. Creating further fears for the instability of our policing there were regular updates on the dissident threats, which were probably spurred on by the reports on the lack of resources and the weaknesses in the PSNI across Northern Ireland. Using these issues as vehicles we can drive towards a road which is often laborious, frustrating and creates PNIS- Pessimistic Norn Iron Syndrome. This has made many comedians Irish famous and most of us natural cynics.

The policing budget has been the main subject of discussion and with 60% of officers apparently doing paperwork, it makes the efforts of reforming the police force look like an administrative nightmare. The 60% paperwork may be attributed to our past and lack of accountability and documentation of incidents which still, today are causing controversy. Again this gives more evidence towards having our own policing and justice system, not one which is decentralised and out of touch with local issues and the unique society that is Northern Ireland. This lends itself well to the next point we must consider. The cuts to the budget are set at a proposed £17 million. It is worth noting that £184.9 million has been spent on the Saville enquiry. With 160 volumes of evidence, 20-30 million words, 121 Audio tapes and 220 video tapes this again is another burden we must carry and government spending will account for the costs. Another £15 million was spent on transferring the case from Londonderry to London amid fears for the security of the Soldiers involved in the enquiry.

The Saville enquiry is a high profile example but there are many more minor cases being pursued as a result of the troubles and each costing more as time goes on and new evidence is uncovered. Attributing the lack of funds to the Saville enquiry but to the nature of N.I and its political decision makers and interests. Again, Who do we hold accountable? Another phrase in frequent use. The British Government, past, present and future, have and will have alot to answer for but they are not alone in this. The public oxygen fund from the British Government which is given to NI for public spending is substantial but its distribution in the past is a point that must be considered to understand how it effects are own public funds and expenditure today.

During the late 70’s security and fortification were paramount to prevent ‘civil unrest’. This left water systems, road ways in and out of Belfast, public services, sewage systems amongst many other things, under resourced and quite frankly left to rot. Compare that to how we have began only recently to address these areas needed to allow Belfast to be a place to attract lost commerce and investment. These are essential requirements for any sustainable economy or for that matter, a recovering economy. Tourism and business are N.I’s main attractions and to do this effectively we must provide the framework for these to flourish. So far it has been mainly a measurable success and competing with other European cities is within reach. Arlene Foster hopes to increase tourism revenue to £520 million by the year 2011, set by the executive which wants to see 2.5million tourists visit N.I.

In 2003 £2 billion was announced for infrastructure and in 2002/03 we spent £32.6 million on policing overtime, loyalist organised crime, dissidents and interface policing. £654.5 million was spent by the end of that financial year. What we are looking at now is a crucial time for investment in policing and justice. Instead, do we batter public confidence and create more fear in communities when they learn that the police may or may not be able to respond to every call? Recession inevitably breeds a new kind of crime which is often much more desperate and swift in its approach. To put it into perspective, Queens University and the greater South Belfast area seen some of the highest crime rates in burglaries and break ins, cases of rape and anti-social behaviour, all of which made the headlines in this very paper. People need to feel secure in their homes. Residents in student areas need support as much as students and the general population in south Belfast need to know they can rely on their local police force. This would be a unifying issue within the divided communities within the city. It is clear that support for policing in NI has been helped by events in the past which saw both parties condemn the murders of members of the Army and PSNI. The last push it would seem is near and at £600 million it is worth noting that this may decrease depending on the state of play in the British government. Smart investment and public support from the two main parties could give everyone a view of what sort of future we will have in NI. Much to the likeness of the view we had when the Good Friday Agreement was televised. A confident society and one which has a collective goal is not very often presented as perfectly as now. It is as good a time as any providing we let the present rule the idea for the future, only then we can use as many superlatives to describe Belfast and NI as a whole. John Maynard Keynes is more relevant now than ever as he once stated, ‘The biggest problem is not to let people accept new ideas, but to let them forget the old ones.’ With this in mind, devolution is seen as achievable and an idea that can be realised in the near future, sooner rather than later. Otherwise another generation will suffer the bill and maybe during a less forgiving time.

Tags: Northern Ireland, Policing, Politics

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 at 5:20 pm and is filed under Features, News, Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.