The PSNI Chief Constable has said “it would not surprise” him if dissident republicans were involved in recent rioting in Derry.
Jon Boutcher said the PSNI is continuing to investigate the disorder which has continued over recent nights, with 11 arrests made since Monday.
Masked youths had gathered in Derry city for three consecutive nights of unrest, with plastic barricades, tires and traffic lights set alight.
“We are still investigating that. We charged nine yesterday. We arrested 11 during the [Derry] disorder,” Mr Boutcher told the Belfast Telegraph.
“On [dissident involvement], it would not surprise me, but we’re still investigating some of the issues. Social media – we’re looking at all of that to see if people are inciting this violence.”
Mr Boutcher has described the trouble as “blatant sectarian violence” and warned those responsible will be pursued “with the full force of the law”.
Police said while there were incidents of criminal damage in the Galliagh area of Derry on Wednesday evening, there was no repeat of the disorder seen on Monday and Tuesday nights.
From around 7.15pm, plastic barriers, bins, a sofa, pallets and tyres were dragged onto roads and set alight.
A traffic light on Glengalliagh Road was also set on fire and left inoperable.
Chief Superintendent Gillian Kearney, Area Commander of Derry City & Strabane, said: “Overnight, in Derry/Londonderry, while there was no repeat of disorder on the scale witnessed in the city on Monday and Tuesday, there were incidents of anti-social and criminal behaviour in the Galliagh area.”
Trouble has also flared in other parts of Northern Ireland after a peaceful vigil in Ballymena ended in violence.
Mr Boutcher said he believed people in Ballymena “could have died” if PSNI officers didn’t intervene.
Since then 46 arrests have been made.
At least 87 officers have also been injured “sustained” attacks against officers, the police chief said.
It comes as the Police Federation for Northern Ireland (PFNI) revealed that almost 9,500 officers have been assaulted over the last three years – nine a day.
As a result almost 3,000 officers have been injured.
But PFNI chair Liam Kelly believes this is a conservative estimate as minor injuries typically aren’t reported.
In response, the federation launched a campaign at Stormont to safeguard officers here in tandem with the Department of Justice, the Chief Constable and the Policing Board.
Mr Kelly has demanded tougher reprisals to those who “strike, kick, punch and spit at our colleagues.”
He said: “We want the public to realise the full extent of what our officers – themselves fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters – have to suffer. It’s not right they should end up in hospital with injuries they sustain while protecting the community.
“Decisive and tough sentences handed down by magistrates and judges will deter those who assault our police officers.”
Justice Minister Naomi Long pledged to put forward a bill in Autumn to bring tougher sentencing measures.
The legislation would also extend assaults made on the wider workforce that provide a “public service” to the community ranging from firefighters to Translink bus operators.
Ms Long expressed her concern at the “contagion” of violence that has swept the region and hopes the bill will offer more robust sentencing options.
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