Child abduction rumours sparked fear in community - DPP member

Iain McAfee, who has worked in community development for a number of years, made his observation in a letter to the Area Commander, Chief Inspector John Magill, that rumours had abounded throughout the Borough alleging a number of child abduction attempts.

At a meeting of the DPP last Wednesday, Mr. McAfee said: “These began to multiply over the weekend of Friday 11th to Sunday 13th and as a result I was inundated with people from the local community looking for answers and naturally fearful for their children’s safety Because of this uncertainty I attempted to ascertain whether there was any basis to the rumours. Eventually Inspector Anderson was able to confirm that an incident did occur in Ballybogey on the Thursday evening.

“More information was provided to me over the weekend regarding an incident in Loughgiel. On the Monday morning I again attempted to get answers by contacting the police, this time through the main police number. The Constable I spoke to said he was unaware of ANY incident but would speak to a superior. Shortly after I received a call back and was told that the only reported incident was the

Ballybogey one.

“Eventually Inspector Anderson was able to confirm that an incident did occur in Loughgiel a week prior and in both cases the police were investigating.

“Regrettably it appears that I was the only one who could confirm anything on these issues which were clearly very disturbing to local people. While I accept that confirmation of the incidents did not reduce the fears of the local community, what it did was clear up the uncertainty.

“Therefore I have three questions.

“1. Given that the Loughgiel incident occurred less than a week prior, why could Call Handling not confirm it?

“2. What is the procedure to inform local people if a suspected child abductor is in the local area? Are there any examples of good practice or could a project be piloted in the local area.

“3. Can you tell me how many attempted child abductions have been reported in H District as a whole and each Command Area? If possible how many of these have been accepted as genuine?

“I personally believe that because there is not a history of successful child abductions in Northern Ireland there is a degree of naivety, especially among parents who tend to believe their local area is safe.”

Another letter on the same issue came from Trina Lyons who said that she had been told that there may have been a number of attempted child abductions locally.

As a mother she was naturally concerned for her child’s safety.

“While I thought that they may have been false alarms I wasn't going to take a chance,” she said.

She went on: “Fortunately Iain McAfee who I knew from his involvement with the Glebeside Community Association said he would look into the claims. There was a fear among myself and other parents although at no time was anyone able to confirm if anything happened. “Because of this people began to believe it was a false alarm or prank and I believe probably ignored their inital worry.

“After a day or so Iain was able confirm that scares did happen in Ballybogey and Loughgiel. Even up to this minute the only information that I got was from the local papers and I know of many people who still are not aware. Although the information gave to me did not stop me from being worried, it at least made me aware of the situation.

“Prior to this I was not aware of what the DPP did however since then through Iain and the internet I am more aware of its work.

It is now my view that the DPP can play an important role in the area and would be great to see more people helping the community to address their fear of crime and other issues.”

In response, Chief Inspector Magill said the call handling situation now had a better response than beforehand, but was still something they were looking at.

In relation to the procedure for informing people, Chief Inspector Magill said police endeavoured to keep people informed if they made enquiries. Police did not go directly to the community to inform them.

Chief Inspector Magill added that they did not have numbers of child abductions at this time.