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Terrorists to join PSNI???

Whatever the fook next? 8O :roll:

How can you even contemplate allowing people who broke the law as a living (career criminals) to become involved in the police?

Surely this goes against all that the police force stand for?

This is one argumnet that im full square behind that cnut Paisley!

Convicted terrorists could be allowed to join the Police Service of Northern Ireland under plans being explored by the Government to expunge their criminal records.

Northern Ireland politicians are increasingly worried that Tony Blair will make the concession to Sinn Fein / IRA and remove the bar which prevents paramilitaries from becoming police officers.


Unionists and the SDLP, the province's moderate nationalist party, say that allowing bombers and gunmen to join the police would go well beyond the changes set out in the 1999 Patten commission, which stated that serious criminals should not be allowed to join the police when it reformed the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

The SDLP has become so alarmed that a series of meetings has been held with ministers and officials to outline its worries.

Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party and the Ulster Unionist Party, which are furious at plans to withdraw troops from Ulster and disband the Royal Irish Regiment, have said the proposal would destabilise the peace negotiations still more.

The parties argue that the move would further legitimise the unofficial enforcer role played in Roman Catholic and Protestant communities by former republican and loyalist paramilitaries.

They believe that the proposal was negotiated by Sinn Fein during Government talks that preceded the IRA's promise formally to end its armed campaign in July.

Sinn Fein politicians would like to see the records of IRA terrorists, whom they regard as political prisoners, wiped clean...
[C]Telegraph.co.uk
 
I can just imagine the PSNI patrolling with AK47's and RPG's strapped to their backs, oh and a member of the patrol can carry a Black and decker for on the spot punishments.

You could also get a door to door drugs, and of course the old favourite extortion and protection rackets.

New PSNI member (ex terrorist) says to Mr Shopkeeper "Give 2000 quid or I will frame you for your wife's murder".

Can't really see it happening, although anything can happen when Bliars government is in charge, you might as well fast track all failed suicide bombers to Parliament. You never know it could be a possibility.

I really give up at times. :roll:
 
Well, a certain ,ahem, MP (formely Baghdad South) is allowed to stay as one and you DO have good old Gerry and Martin taking the pay and refusing to work (bit like the RAF really!)
 
Well, were not some Ulster Defence Association members also in security forces? I think that letting any criminal/terrorist into a police force is farcical- and dangerous. It return the north straight back to the days of the B.Specials and their community terrorising thuggery. After 50 years, noone needs that. except the various flavours of thug.

The fella who's worried that it'd legitimise the enforcers is damm straight.

I'd prefer to see the catholic members of the 2,3,4 R. Irish pushed into the PSNI so that the community profile be filled allowing further recruitment. That'd put the enforcers under pressure esp if the police are given the support and pay they'd need to live and work in the same area.

The north is not a normal society. Think Sicily, only greener.
 
Real politik! Todays terrorist is tomorrows ........ whatever. If a "terrorist" can become PM of Israel.... if wanna be rock star can become PM of UK........you could also argue that these boyos are just doing a reverse Black and Tans.......
 
I did 5 years serving there, and still get back over on a regular basis. I also followed all the various "initiatives" of the peace process that have occurred over the last 8 years or so very closely, and the saddest thing is that I find I don't really care any more. If there's enough other people like me out there, it's probably what the Shinners were after all along, I suppose.
 
Bombard wrote:

Well, were not some Ulster Defence Association members also in security forces? I think that letting any criminal/terrorist into a police force is farcical- and dangerous. It return the north straight back to the days of the B.Specials and their community terrorising thuggery. After 50 years, noone needs that. except the various flavours of thug.

The fella who's worried that it'd legitimise the enforcers is damm straight.

I'd prefer to see the catholic members of the 2,3,4 R. Irish pushed into the PSNI so that the community profile be filled allowing further recruitment. That'd put the enforcers under pressure esp if the police are given the support and pay they'd need to live and work in the same area.

The north is not a normal society. Think Sicily, only greener.

The very few UDA terrorists that enlisted into the then UDR or got recruited whilst serving, did not do so on the backs of their terrorist related CV's, i.e. they did not have criminal backgrounds prior to recruitment.

Why would you see just the catholic members of the RIR recruited to the police, again we don't need anymore positive discrimination.

Do you really think anyone recruited to PSNI from hard lined areas are really going to live there even with a cash incentive. Most Catholics I know in the RIR tend to live in mainly Unionist areas, I wonder why?

As for the Northern Ireland not being a normal society, catch a fcuking grip, it’s as normal as any other society, and yes like every other society it has it rotten apples and problems.
 
The Patton report reccomended that the membership of the PSNI needed to be balenced. Previously, over 90% of the RUC were protestant/unionist. Unfortunatly, having catholic police is exactly what the IRA dont want, so are delaying and messing about the policing board. Given there are a number of catholics already in R. Irish, transferring them to the PSNI is one way to improve the 'community balence' Sometimes, positive discrimination is needed. (I hate to say it, but the old unionist governments were very good at positive discrimination. hence the civil rights movmement, remember?)
I dont know many PSNI members, I dont know weither you count a mixed area as being a unionist area, or not.

I meant that having police living away from a area particular area simply gives criminals a clear run in that area: Think the scumbag estates in Limerick, if you know the place. Yes I'm aware of the difficulties, and I said they'd need massive support, not just incentives.

Northern Ireland is not a normal society. There has been 50 years of offical sectarianism, 30 years of terrorism, 6/7 years of comparitve peace. No way any society could be described as normal after that. I think the Sicily comparision was apt. It is a area seperate from the mainland. It has a highly organised criminal community who control areas, and are willing to use violence to protect their interests. And finally: Any society that has areas where policemen is afraid of their lives to live, is not normal.

And back to the point. Anybody, either community that has a single sectarian or terrorist or criminal bone in their body: Should not be in the PSNI. Thats my humble opinion, of course!
 
Bombard wrote:

Northern Ireland is not a normal society. There has been 50 years of offical sectarianism, 30 years of terrorism, 6/7 years of comparitve peace. No way any society could be described as normal after that. I think the Sicily comparision was apt. It is a area seperate from the mainland. It has a highly organised criminal community who control areas, and are willing to use violence to protect their interests. And finally: Any society that has areas where policemen is afraid of their lives to live, is not normal.


So how many Policemen/women live in the likes of Brixton, the various hard lined estates in Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham, Dublin, Limerick etc. I would not imagine they are afraid to live there; a better quality of life comes to mind, which is why they choose not to live there. I don't know how the UK mainland police view their posting after training; it is normal for the PSNI to post its officers to a police station not in the area where they live.

What other area within the UK or Ireland for that matter, has their own gangland problems, lots. I'm not trying to play down NI's troubles here; I have suffered myself as a direct cause of said troubles. NI is a normal society; people get up in the morning, go to work, come back home, have dinner, play with the kids, watch telly and go to bed. Are you suggesting that in one way or another every person in NI is not normal (no funnies please, heard them all before :wink: ). Are you on the outside looking in? Off course you are entitled to you opinion, I could say the same about the South, but I am on the outside looking in, so my opinion does not really count.
 
I'll take your point. Granted there are places in Limerick, (pop 40,000) Dublin (pop. 1,000,000) Manchester (Pop 2 gazillions) where coppers do not want to live, because of bad quality of life. However, if for policing reasons they had to live there, they would not be in fear of their life. Fear for their tele, car, phone, microwave, and sanity, yes!

But places where their life is actually in danger? Few and far between and wouldn't be a threat from a community as such.

In the Gardai, its normal to post a garda to any place other than their homeplace. but then they are expected to live in the area.

I've a brother who spent 4 years in Belfast, before ceasefire. I went up there a few times: When we turned down his street he shut me up, until we were inside, as he didn't want a southern accent associated with his house; unionist street. Thats not something I was used to! Its just a small story, and there are many worse is the sad saga of Norn Iron.

Its the intense tribal aspects of the northern society that I'm wary about: the 'them or us'ness; The fear of attack from the hard men, that the ones on the other side will attack you and the ones on 'your' side will attack you. the distrust of the central government.
Using normal policing methods in that society is like using unarmed bobbies in Basra.

And I get your point about what makes a community "normal"
 
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