By Conor Sharkey
ONLY three out of Strabane's eight Sinn Féin councillors will take their seats when the local District Policing Partnership reconvenes next year.
In October, the party announced it would be taking all five seats it was entitled to under the D'Hondt system. However, it appears support for the policing body was not as strong as initially envisioned and on Tuesday night, the party was forced to concede that only three councillors – Ivan Barr, Claire McGill and Brian McMahon – would sit on the DPP. West Tyrone MP Pat Doherty said he was disappointed that the Strabane councillors did not reach agreement but he stressed that Sinn Féin remains committed to engaging in all policing structures.
Rumours of internal wrangling within the local Sinn Féin ranks have been rife since the leader of the council bloc Gerard Foley announced last month his party's intention to take all five seats.
It is understood that initially, only two councillors expressed an interest in taking their seats. And the Strabane Chronicle has learnt that this remained the case right up until Tuesday's deadline, when a frantic last minute meeting saw MLA Claire McGill throw her hat into the ring for a DPP seat.
The uncertainty leaves Strabane in the unenviable position of being the only district council where Sinn Fein has had a problem filling its quota. And, while it may have been easier for some councillors to walk away from the policing issue, for Cllr Ivan Barr the decision to say yes could not have been tougher.
A life-long republican and a Sinn Féin elected
representative of more than 20 years, Cllr Barr has witnessed police brutality at first hand on more than one occasion. But speaking yesterday (Wednesday), the veteran Republican said the political climate was finally right for him to back Northern Ireland's policing institutions.
"I thought long and hard about my decision," he said. "The reason I've signed up is on the basis that I understand that this partnership will enable both the independent and political members to represent the views of their communities on a day-to-day basis and allow us to minimise sexual assaults, physical assaults and other petty crimes.
"I am old enough to remember pre-1969 and there has been many changes in policing, not just the name, but with the establishment of the Ombudsman and the DPPs. On top of that, Special Branch aren't so much to the fore as they were in years gone by.
"There is a lot of criminal and anti-social activity in our society today and someone has to address that. If we can play a role and direct resources to the areas where they are most needed, so much the better. My role as an elected representative is to represent the best interests of my community, no more, no less," Cllr Barr explained.
With regards to the personal security risks for those backing policing, Cllr Barr said, "I would say that for the last 40 years, republicans in general have had to be alert and I myself in the past have received information from the RUC that my safety was under threat.
"In the main, these threats came from loyalist paramilitaries. I would be disappointed if they now came from any source.
"Naturally it would be foolish to simpy ignore any threats made, but I would like to think that if anyone has a grievance against me, they would come to me personally and leave my family out of it."
