PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton.
Those behind the recent bomb attack on police and punishment shootings of civilians in Derry will achieve “nothing but hurt, grief and pain,” PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton has said.
Mr Hamilton was speaking during the monthly meeting of the Northern Ireland Police Board held in the city this morning during which he strenuously defended the police follow-up operation in Creggan following last Sunday night’s bomb attack on a mobile police patrol.
Describing Derry as a city “full of hope and confidence for the future,” Mr Hamilton said day and night officers were working in the city and throughout Northern Ireland to keep people safe.
He added: “We are your Police Service and we are your police officers.
“In recent weeks there are been a number of attempts to murder police officers.
“On Sunday night there was the attack on officers in Creggan Heights and in the previous weeks there have been two attempts to kill police officers by making false reports to police with the intent of bringing officers into an area where a bomb would then be detonated.”
Referring to last night’s public meeting in Derry during which concerns were raised about how police dealt with local residents following Sunday night’s bomb attack, Mr Hamilton said: “I heard first hand from the community last night that there were real concerns about the amount of time taken to set up cordons and to complete the scene examination.
“I am listening to those concerns and the District Commander has commissioned a review of the police response including the engagement with the community.
“The horror of paramilitary style assaults have also been feature of recent days. This type of attack is not justice – it is brutality; and something that society must reject.
“The reality is that in all of these examples, it is not just police officers lives that were in danger, the lives of the local community have also been put at very real risk.
“On Sunday night, two members of the public who were travelling behind the police vehicle were left badly shaken by the damage the attack caused to their car.
“In the other two attempts to kill police, the bombs were planted close to homes and community facilities in Strabane and Derry.
“In public statements, the people responsible for these acts have said it would be the PSNI’s fault if a community member is killed or injured.
“They suggested that police would prefer to have a member of the community killed instead of a police officer, and they went on to threaten to kill members of the community who would work in partnership with policing.
“I have nothing to say to those who wrote the statement – it is not worth responding to the perverted logic that they use to justify their actions.
“But I do want to say something to the people living in the communities affected and, indeed to the wider public.
“Protecting members of the community is always the PSNI’s first priority. We know police officers are the main target of the people who think violence is an answer.
“This means that, on some occasions, to protect the community as well as the police officers who serve it, our judgement must be to take a slower approach to suspicious calls and activity.
“Police officers are charged with protecting life, preserving order and bringing offenders to justice. We will do all in our power to bring these people, who have endangered the community, to justice.
“It still suits those who want to continue with violence to paint the perception of the PSNI as an ‘instrument of the state.’
“Let me be clear – I and my police officers are not instruments of the state. We are men and women from right across this community who have chosen a job in which we serve the community by keeping people safe and upholding the law in a democratic society.
“There is nothing that can excuse the use of violence against the community or against the Police Service. It will achieve nothing but hurt, grief and pain.”
Mr Hamilton concluded: “This is a city where partnership, relationships and collaborative working are rightly cited as good practice. It is vital that the good work that happens here is replicated elsewhere. Now, more than ever we need to get better at working together to keep people safe and continue to build confidence in policing.”
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