A Sinn Féin Councillor is calling for more police to be deployed to cover the area of West Fermanagh.
Councillor Domhnall Ó'Cobhthaigh, who resides in Belcoo, explained the communities in the large geographical area of Belleek, Belcoo, Kinawley, and Derrygonnelly are currently only served by five police officers:
"People in the west are being treated like second class citizens," he claimed. "What I am hearing from the communities is that people want policing. This is not a lawless community, crime is going on and people feel helpless in the face of crime.
"There are only five police officers, working three shift patterns. So that means there are only ever two officers on at any one time, and they are usually out on the road."
Councillor Ó'Cobhthaigh attributed part of the problem to the County's Community Police Liaison Committees (CPLC's).
He explained these were established under the Patten review to convey the feelings of the communities to police. However, he questioned their 'openness' and called for them to be made more accountable.
At a recent meeting of Fermanagh District Policing Partnership (DPP), he asked the Chief Inspector if he believed the CPLC's were truly representative of the communities they purported to represent.
He pressed the point further, asking: "Does the failure of the CPLC's to meet regularly cause you any concern? And do you believe it is appropriate to gaining wider community confidence that CPLC members are unknown to local communities? They are both secretive and inclusive, and the structure of the group allows for the exclusion of members on the basis that they are 'detrimental' to their function."
Councillor Ó'Cobhthaigh went on to criticise the 'closed' nature of the organisations, asking: "Are there any 'Best Practice' Guidelines for CPLC's? Similar groups in England and Wales hold public meetings and advertise AGM's. Are these not procedures which should be considered as standard practice?"
Chief Inspector Barton, replying, stated: "No, I accept there are and, indeed will be exceptions to the breadth of coverage provided by these groups.
"I think, given the diversity within our County, this will be the case no matter what adjustments are made. The objective for the CPLC's is to minimise this vacuum as much as possible. I do believe the CPLC's sought as broad a diversity of coverage as possible when they were formed and, given the fact that not all political parties were publicly associated with policing at that time, then they did the best job they could," he continued.
"I do emphasise", he went on, " it is not the role of the DPP to dictate to CPLC's the nature of their composition. Chris Patten wrote in his Report "We do not intend either to replace these or to recommend how they should be organised. Below district level, local communities and police should be encouraged to develop consultative forums on lines that suit them and their neighbourhoods
"I suggest we accept the intention of the Independent Commission into Policing (the Patten report) and leave the CPLC's to the Sector Inspectors and Neighbourhood Sergeants. What we can do at District level is ensure that such forums exist and meet with some regularity."
However, the Chief Inspector admitted there were difficulties: "Yes, and I believe some of these forums are dissolving, or are on the verge of doing so. This should not be seen as a problem but an opportunity to ensure that they are reconstructed on a sector basis, with sufficient resilience to sustain regular meetings of groups representative of the community within that sector.
"I believe your role is to ask me in three or six months time to advise you if sector CPLC's are functional and meeting regularly. It is my role to ensure my Sector Inspectors have delivered on this. Any more than this and, with the greatest respect to you as a DPP, I suggest you would be interfering."
Turning to the make up of the groups, the Chief Inspector explained: "CPLC membership is covered by constitutions. The membership have a right to decide if they wish to seek publicity or not. The CPLC's have a right to decide what way they will represent the community. I am aware that some believe the elected representatives can and do represent their areas in Council, the Assembly or Westminster and, therefore do not need to be present on their forums. Others seek elected representative membership," Chief Inspector Barton continued.
"I say, once again: it is not the role of the DPP to dictate the workings of CPLC's, and Chris Patten made that very clear. CPLC's are catered for in the independent review into policing. That review makes it clear that they will be left alone and not interfered with by the DPP or, indeed the Police Board. Nowhere in that report is it a requirement that DPP's monitor or seek accountability from CPLC's and, accordingly I believe you must now accept this position and move on," he concluded.
