NORTH OF IRELAND: POLICE REPORT - PSNI RESPONSE
The PSNI have responded to queries from the Celtic League about a number of aspects of Force policy. The correspondence has been exchanged as part of a general survey (THE POLICE REPORT) of Police Service provision across the Celtic countries.
The response below should be read in conjunction with the original query from the Celtic League General Secretary which can be found at:
«Dear Rhisiart,
Thank you for your e-mail of 29th January 2009 to the Chief Constable. I am responding on his behalf.
During your e-mail you raise several points which I have endeavoured to answer. These focussed initially on the matter of the PSNI being armed, and secondly on the Irish language.
With regard to the arming of the PSNI, the report of the Independent Commission on Policing in Northern Ireland at paragraph 8.17 Firearms states that the police service, in a peaceful environment should be routinely unarmed, providing policing can be delivered effectively without significant risk to police officers. The report goes on to state that the issue of an unarmed police service attracted very little comment during their consultation process and that less than 2% of their submissions touched on the subject. The report states:
»most of the oral submissions we received on the matter at public meetings warned against disarming the police while the security outlook remained uncertain.« The report went on to recommend the following, which is now referred to as Recommendation 65:
`We recommend that the question of moving towards the desired objective of a routinely unarmed police service be periodically reviewed in the light of developments in the security environment.'
Since the publication of this report, the Policing Board has received regular updates and security assessments from the Chief Constable in respect of Recommendation 65. In his most recent assessment in November 2008, the Chief Constable noted that the circumstances were not yet suitable i.e. the security situation in Northern Ireland has not reached a peaceful environment whereby the question of moving towards a routinely unarmed police service could be considered. This is why the PSNI remain an armed police service, however the issue is and will remain constantly under review.
PSNI are not aware of any survey which has been conducted re the attitudes of the general public towards the PSNI carrying guns.
With regard to your listed questions on the Irish language I have recorded the response against each question number for ease of reference:
1. The Police Service of Northern Ireland website includes some translated material to assist non-English speakers to access our services. This currently includes Czech, Irish, Lithuanian, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Ulster Scots. Languages are selected based on the volume of requests received for information in those languages. The main requests currently received are in Russian, Czechoslovakian, Lithuanian, Mandarin, Polish and Portuguese. There are currently no plans to translate the entire Police Service website into any other language.
2. There is no requirement for officers to be able to speak some Irish or show a willingness to learn Irish to enter the Police Service. There are no pre-requisite academic qualifications or examinations needed to become a Police Officer in the organisation. There are currently only 4 individuals within the Police Service who have identified themselves in their Personnel file as Irish Linguists, however we are aware that there are many more officers who speak Irish by virtue of them attending the free Irish classes that were provided and also by the officers who deliver our Citizenship lessons in Irish Medium Schools. The percentage of Irish speakers within PSNI is therefore 0.04%. As explained before this only refers to personnel who have got Irish as a Linguistic Skill.
3. Police officers and staff are able to attend free Irish language classes delivered by fully qualified external facilitators should they wish to do so. The syllabus of the course is compliant with the current Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) GCSE Curriculum. The Academic Development Branch based within College Administration at the Northern Ireland Police College, Garnerville, manages the course.
4. The Police Service of Northern Ireland does not currently have a published Irish language policy but is aware of its responsibilities under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
5. Should the Police Service of Northern Ireland receive a letter in a language other than English, a response will be drafted in the language of the questioner and in accordance with service guidelines on interpretation and translation.
6. The Police Service of Northern Ireland is committed to being truly representative of the whole community, reflecting Patten's vision in the Report of the Independent Commission on Policing in Northern Ireland. We do this by undertaking a wide range of outreach activity and engagement with communities, and are always willing to meet with representatives that will allow us to progress this work. The PSNI shares Patten's view that there is a joint responsibility in this task and would refer you to paragraph 15.2 of the report, which states: »We therefore recommend that all community leaders, including political party leaders and local councillors, bishops and priests, schoolteachers and sports authorities, should take steps to remove all discouragements to members of their communities applying to join the police, and make it a priority to encourage them to apply. We cannot stress this recommendation too strongly." The Patten report also recommended that: 'the recruitment agency should advertise imaginatively and persistently, particularly in places likely to reach groups who are under-represented in the police (paragraph 15.8)', and 'the agency should advertise beyond Northern Ireland, in the rest of the United Kingdom, and in the Republic of Ireland (paragraph 15.8)'. The Police Service, in conjunction with our recruiting agent, have worked hard to ensure that these recommendations were, and continue to be, carried out in full. You may also be interested to know that the PSNI have previously carried recruitment advertisements in the Irish language, though the publication used is no longer available.
7. The aim of the Police Service of Northern Ireland is to maker Northern Ireland Safer for everyone through Professional, Progressive Policing. In doing this we recognise the various cultural and linguistic identities that exist in Northern and we strive to engage with people from all communities, including Irish speaking communities.
I trust this answers the points raised in your correspondence.
INFO@PSNI»
The first phase of the CELTIC LEAGUE POLICE REPORT, prepared by the General Secretary, which was presented to the 2008 Annual General Meeting in Dublin can be found at:
J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League 29/03/09
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