By Michele Canning
STRABANE'S police chief has apologised after it took two hours to respond to the attempted abduction of a seven year old boy in the town at the weekend.
The Strabane Chronicle can reveal that police at the town's PSNI station only became aware of the crime when they were called by the Sinn Fein Chairman of the District Policing Partnership some 90 minutes after the incident.
But the blame lies with the police call centre in Derry, which took the call from the frantic mum, and failed to pass the information onto officers in Strabane.
The schoolboy was approached by a man shortly before 8pm on Friday night, who asked him to if he wanted to go for a drive. The boy, who had been at a friend's house just yards from his own home, ran to his mother, who then called the police.
Area Commander Phil Marshall has now apologised to the family for the delay, and said steps are being taken to ensure such a mistake doesn't happen again.
Describing the breakdown in communication as 'disappointing', Mr Marshall told the Strabane Chronicle, "We accept that there was an initial breakdown in communication within the call handling unit at Foyle. That is disappointing, and we apologise to the family. We are taking steps to ensure a similar situation does not happen again. When the report of the incident came to the attention of Strabane police, we responded quickly and appropriately."
Chief Inspector Marshall, added, "First and foremost, police want to find the man who approached this young boy.
"He was able to give us a very comprehensive account of what happened.
That included a detailed description. Certainly, we want to hear from anyone who has information that could help this investigation."
Details of the delay emerged when the Chronicle spoke with the mother of the boy, and she revealed that police officers who finally came to her home around 10pm told her that the call had gone through to Derry and was not passed onto Strabane.
DPP Chairman, Brian McMahon said 'time is of the essence' in cases such as attempted abduction.
"Obviously, the main thing in all of this is that I am alarmed at the presence of a predator in a housing estate in Strabane making unsavoury contact with a child.
"The family then reported this as a matter of urgency and it was some two hours before police went to the house.
"Police need to look at monitoring the situation as to how calls are collated, how they are coming in and how they are prioritised.
"With something as serious as this to be not given priority, well it could have had drastic consequences.
"The family will be glad to have an apology but we could have been facing a very different situation today. Luck was on our side this time," Mr McMahon added.
