PSNI chief makes plea for community cooperation

The Chief Constable, Hugh Orde has called on all the communities in Northern Ireland to work with the police "for the greater good of everyone in society".

Mr Orde told the congregation at a service of thanksgiving in St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast at the weekend, that the prize for such co-operation was “a police service that is the pride of the people of this country and the envy of the wider policing family”.

Paying tribute to the determination and commitment of colleagues, past and present, Mr Orde said police officers "do not ask for praise but they deserve it".

"The time has come when we as a community should value police officers for who they are, for what they do and for the immense contribution which they make to ensuring the province is a better place in which to live, work and play,” he said.

Mr Orde also told the congregation of several hundred people that the evolution of a new police service in Northern Ireland remained a work in progress.

“We need to work hard at reducing our levels of sickness, ensuring officers are encouraged and supported so they recover quickly and return to work as soon as possible," he said.

"We must ensure that every available officer is at the front end of policing and not behind a desk. To achieve this we will accelerate the process of civilianisation, and review all central departments. We must challenge the ‘too busy’ culture and take a long, hard look at how we do our business, and examine every working practice that does not impact on service delivery.

“Let me make one thing clear. This is not change for the sake of change. It is building on the solid foundations of the past to provide the best possible dynamic policing service for the future.”

On the district policing partnership boards, Mr Orde said: “I feel that we are on the edge, with a number of onlookers unsure of which way to jump. Those who, for many reasons have a distrust or hatred of the police, but see, however much they may want to deny it, a real willingness on our side to engage and move on.

“I am confident that as we continue to do what police officers do best, and that is prove to sceptical communities through action that we are determined to protect them, we will knock down the barriers and make it easier for those groups to justify a shift away from policies of non co-operation.”

(GMcG)