Yet another groundbreaking move in policing was achieved last night when PSNI chief constable Sir Hugh Orde, at the invitation of Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams, spoke in west Belfast on how to tackle anti-social crime.
This was the first time the chief constable participated in such an event in west Belfast at the behest of Mr Adams and local community leaders, marking further major progress in nationalist and republican acceptance of the PSNI. Mr Adams smiled and shook hands with Sir Hugh when he entered the Whiterock Community Centre where the meeting was held.
The meeting was not public but involved Sir Hugh, accompanied by senior PSNI officers, Mr Adams, various relevant bodies and community activists addressing how to combat crime and anti-social activity in Ballymurphy in west Belfast.
Just 15 members of the Irish Republican Socialist Party protested outside the hall. They held aloft placards stating "Reject the PSNI/SS/RUC" as Sir Hugh, dressed in his uniform but without a jacket, walked by, ignoring them. They called Mr Adams a "traitor" when he walked by.
Members of the Notorantonio family from Ballymurphy also protested, complaining that they should have been invited to the meeting. Charlotte Notorantonio said they had also suffered as a result of spiralling trouble in the area.
The meeting was called to address the wider problem of anti-social crime in the area but particularly to devise a concerted plan to deal with a local feud between two families that has led to death, serious injuries, and arson and other attacks in Ballymurphy.
It goes back to February 2006 when Gerard Devlin was stabbed to death. Since then up to 800 incidents have been linked by the PSNI to the feud. By last autumn, policing the feud had cost £1 million (€1,481,000), according to the PSNI. Neither Sinn Féin nor other intervention has been able to settle the dispute, which accounted for the new Gerry Adams-led initiative to involve the PSNI more directly in tackling the issue at the most senior level.
At the Whiterock centre, Sir Hugh said: "This is about getting the job done. This is where you learn, you learn at the front end. If people have got issues, then collectively we can fix them."
His said his officers were "absolutely committed to making a difference in this part of west Belfast". "This is about making a difference.Other people have got to make a leap too. We will push our edges but other people have to come some part of the way to make that difference," he said
Mr Adams said people in Ballymurphy were being tortured by a small number of anti-social criminal elements. "Sinn Féin is working to open new space for the local community and criminal justice agencies, especially the PSNI, to work together and fulfil their obligations to uphold the rights of those who want to live in Ballymurphy in safety and peace, free from intimidation and threat," he added.
Meanwhile, in another example of the thawing political climate in Northern Ireland, Mr Adams and DUP leader Ian Paisley led party delegations in a meeting at Stormont yesterday, without any rancour or untoward comment about the event.
