Police need back-up to go to Belleek
Editorial Department • Published 6 May 2010 15:35
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"We don't have the freedom that we did have any more along areas of the border but we are committed at doing what we can to hinder and stop terrorism."
Sergeant Scott Fallis says dissidents will not win despite the threat in Fermanagh being classed as 'severe'.
"The terror threat is as high as it was at the time of the Omagh Bomb and Matt Baggott has said that himself. A terror attack can happen anywhere of course but these people are in the minority and these people will not win," he said.
Sergeant Fallis and Constable Trevor Connor spoke to me as we made our way in an unmarked police car to the village of Belleek late on Friday night. Belleek is a place that some have said "scares" police. A place, it's been claimed, that police 'won't police' out of fear, but Sergeant Fallis adamantly refutes that suggestion.
But it's on the Border, which means dissidents could strike at any time. So surely police must be worried about setting foot in the area?
"It wouldn't be normal if you didn't worry, it's in the back of your mind with instances that have happened around the rest of the province. There's no reason why it can't or won't happen down here. It's always going to be in the back of your mind, but there are no 'no go' areas anywhere in Fermanagh. We are all human and we all have lives outside the police. We have families so yes, it's the back of your mind when you go to any call, no matter where it is. But at the same time we try and make the effort. We certainly take precautions -- you'd be foolish not to," said Sergeant Fallis.
Constable Trevor Connor said they must approach areas such as Belleek with "caution" now. For our visit, our car was followed by another patrol car as back up. All of the officers were armed with guns. It may be 2010 but this, says Constable Connor, has become the norm in the PSNI's war against dissidents.
"It was relatively quiet for a while but we seem to have swung into action again, particularly in places like Belleek. It's close to the Border, it's far away from assistance and we have to go down with some caution. If we just wanted to check something out and our presence wasn't announced we could probably take a chance on our own but it has to be weighed up with the information you get in relation to the threat for that particular time. If we weren't going for a call tonight there's no reason why at night in an unmarked car we can't slip down. The problem is if we find something in Belleek and we need to deal with it, we're down there with no back up. Generally speaking, we wouldn't come down to Belleek unless we had back up," he said.
Critics, whether they're politicians, local people or the media have debated, argued and commented on the terror threat right around the province for months. In Fermanagh, we've had our fair share of attacks and analysis in recent times. In November, dissidents tried to murder a policeman in Garrison. Since then, we've heard of countless bomb warnings in rural parts of the county and even last month, a catholic policeman's car was set alight outside his home in Enniskillen. Dissidents are hell-bent on causing disruption or even death.
So when critics ponder what the police are 'actually doing' to protect the community of Fermanagh, it frustrates Sergeant Fallis and his colleagues. But is it fair game?
"I think you need to be in that situation before you can say whether it is fair or not. For someone to criticise something they're not a part of or have no understanding of is unfair because at the end of the day we have to consider our safety as well as going to a call. It's a balancing act and I feel it's a little unfair if you don't know the whole story. The vast majority of people support us, particularly the people in Belleek. The majority of people want us down here to tackle things like anti-social behaviour, dangerous driving, etc. They just want normality and they had normality for a time. They are as frustrated as we are by all of this," he said.
"We want to be able to patrol Belleek and places like that on foot but at the moment we can't. That said, it's important to point out that we desperately want to be able to police normally, and address the fears, concerns and needs of the community but policing is too important to be left to the police alone," said Sergeant Fallis.
This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 06 May 10
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