Terrorists, rapists and molesters of today take priority over past

That’s according to the PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton, who said members of his force may feel bad about not fulfilling commitments that have been made to the families of those killed during the Troubles, but he acknowledged that, with his force currently going through a chaotic period of change compelled by massive budget reductions, there is only so much money to go around.

The Chief Constable told members of the Northern Ireland Policing Board in Londonderry on Thursday (November 6) that the protection of the public in the here and now will always take precedence over the investigation of historical cases.

He said: “The issue of managing this today and keeping people safe today, of dealing with the threat to life from the emergency issues of today, will have to take priority over the past, because whilst the hurt is real for people and we want to deal with it - we’re not looking for an excuse - we do have a view that politically and societally, the police may not be the best people to deal with this and therefore we watch from a distance and we’re happy to be part of the conversation, when we are invited to be around things like the Haass proposals, for example, we are up to help and inform that debate, and those are political decisions but I do think they need a policing input.”

Northern Ireland’s top police officer also said that his organisation took no pleasure in laying off the temporary staff who had been involved in the investigation of the events of Bloody Sunday in 1972.

He said: “On one level we feel bad, that we are letting communities down, the Bloody Sunday families, for example.”

He went on to add: “But we are not able to deliver on it, not by making our own choice, but by virtue of the budget cuts.

“That’s an uncomfortable thing to say because the hurt for people, for the families, the victims, is still very real today.

“But we have very significant risk, in terms of the threat from violent dissident republicans, people who want to sexually assault children, domestic abuse and all of that today, we do need to prioritise that.”

Mr Hamilton revealed his stark assessment in a week when dissident republicans fired a horizontal mortar - a mechanism used to lethal effect by the Provos during the height of the Troubles, as well as by rebel forces in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria - at two police officers on routine patrol in Creggan.

His officers, as well as two civilians travelling in a car behind the patrol, were lucky to escape with their lives.

Following the attack Mr Hamilton’s District Commander in the North West, Stephen Cargin, said the recent use of pressure plate and command wire triggered bombs by dissident republicans in the Londonderry area, revealed a worrying new sophistication in their death dealing activities.

During the meeting, which took place in the Waterside Theatre, Mr Hamilton’s Assistant Will Kerr said the PSNI does not have the officers to go after the bombers, the rapists, the murderers and the domestic abusers of today, whilst simultaneously pursuing historical matters.

Asked about the stalled Bloody Sunday investigation specifically, Mr Kerr said: “Every police officer we get to go on to that investigation will take away from a current terrorist investigation, murder investigation, rape investigation, the live issues of today.

“We absolutely understand the importance of this investigation. We absolutely understand our statutory responsibilities in dealing with the past but this is now a matter of finite capacity and trying to prioritise today while still reflecting the statutory duties of the past.”

Separately addressing fears that community policing would be cut back as a result of “chaotic” budget cuts, the Chief Constable vowed that his force will adhere to the Patten principle that policing with the community should be the core function of the police service here.

“Because we are in the middle of a bit of chaotic change and massive budget reductions I can’t give any cast iron guarantee but what I can say is that the decisions that we make are going to be firmly grounded in these principles that lie in the Patten blueprint because we believe it still works,” he told the board.