Support for the Police Service of Northern Ireland “must be unequivocal”, Stormont’s Justice Minister has said.
Naomi Long was speaking after a call from PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher for all political parties to show support for police.
DUP leader Gavin Robinson challenged Sinn Fein in terms of their support for police, saying: “Leadership has to be more than just condemnation, but visual and vocal support for the PSNI.”
Alliance MLA Andrew Muir also said he believed all parties could do more, but particularly Sinn Fein in terms of demonstrating their support for police, and recruitment.
Speaking during a joint press conference with PSNI Assistant chief constable Melanie Jones, Stormont Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins
“I think actions speak louder than words, in this last week, both myself and the First Minister Michelle O’Neill have come out strongly, standing with the PSNI condemning the actions that we have seen, and today we are here to deliver a very important public safety message because this is about protecting people’s lives,” the Sinn Fein representative said.
“There are others out there who want to fabricate or manufacture a story that in my view doesn’t exist, we will see through the actions of not just ourselves this week but what our elected representatives have shown over time, and that’s been very clear.
“I completely refute the narrative that has been put out there, and we will continue to work hard with everybody to ensure we protect the lives of people, and particularly in relation to the very important safety message today about keeping people safe on our roads.”
Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster’s Nolan Show earlier, Alliance leader Ms Long said all parties need to support police at all times, and not make policing a “political football”.
He said: “We all need to support the police, and not only when we agree with what they’re doing or when we have the same position on issues, but we need to respect the job that they do, even where we might not be as comfortable with the outcomes as would be in other cases.
“We can’t pick and choose. We can’t decide on some occasions that we’re going to support the police and others, we’re not.
“You can be a critical friend. You can challenge, of course, to make policing better. But at the bottom line, we all have to show that we support the police in the role that they do, that we support the community co-operation with the police in order to help them do it better, and that has to be the bottom line for which we all start in political leadership, that we support policing, that we support the rule of law, and that we support the community co-operate with the police.
“Everything beyond that is about making the police better, about challenging the police to do more and to do better and that’s fine, and we can all do that.
“But where that challenge comes and our position when it comes to the rule of law and when it comes to support for the police is in any way equivocal or conditional, then that challenge feels like attack.
“So we need to be unequivocal that we support the rule of law, that we support a culture of lawfulness in our society, and that we support the PSNI.”
Ms Long said accountability is ensured through the Policing Board and the Police Ombudsman.
“That’s the way policing works everywhere else, and it’s the only way policing will work.
“You’ve got to police with the consent of the community, and the community has got to accept the rule of law and the role of the police in upholding it, and that’s the social contract.”
