SDLP policing proposals slammed

The SDLP has received widespread criticism after calling for the closure of 25 police and army bases, and the introduction of an unarmed police force.

At a news conference on Tuesday, the party released a six-page document which pressed for faster movement towards such goals and said the proposals were valid in the current security scenario.

The report read: "It is clear that, while there are areas where people are reassured by the existence of a local police station, some stations provide little policing purpose, take officers 'off the ground' and are not financially viable."

The Police Federation, however, have hit out at the plans describing them as "fantasy policing" given that terrorism was still on the streets of Northern Ireland.

Speaking on BBC Radio's Talk Back programme today, the Federation's Terry Spence said the issue of an unarmed police force was debated as long as 10 years ago and was rejected as unsustainable back then, even if the future brought no terrorist threat.

Describing the SDLP's proposals as "incredible and beyond belief", Mr Spence said the Federation was equally opposed to closing stations down.

Members of the public, he added, wanted to see police stations operating in their communities.

Mr Spence also claimed that the SDLP had refused on numerous occasions to meet with them and discuss issues raised in the document.

He said the Federation and its members suspected they had refused to do so because they "can't square the circle" with regard to many of these issues.

Ulster Unionist MLA Danny Kennedy also slammed the plans claiming they were "unrealistic".

The Newry and Armagh assembly member said: "For SDLP representatives to say the community's need for proper policing can be better and best served by other means is beyond belief. The question is: are the SDLP living in the real world?

“We are living in times when other police forces across the world are having to protect their officers from rising attacks. More officers are now being armed. That is a fact of life and it reflects the times we live in.

“Firearms related crime on the mainland has increased by 20% in the past year, a terrorist threat still exists in Northern Ireland, albeit to a lesser degree than before, loyalist feuding continues and gang-related crime is also a major concern."

Mr Kennedy said that rather than addressing the serious issues of effective policing of the community, the SDLP only seemed concerned in positioning themselves alongside Sinn Fein with an election imminent.

The DUP's Ian Paisley Jnr also claimed that the SDLP's proposal was a "desperate" attempt to keep votes from Sinn Fein in an assembly election and that any such move would be an act of folly.

Alliance Assembly member Seamus Close also hit out at the demands describing them as "dangerous hype".

(MB)