PLEASE, PLEASE, SHED LIGHT ON THE DARK SIDE
Posted By: May 10, 2014
Patrick Murphy. Irish News ( Belfast). Saturday, May 10, 2014 SOLVING political problems is the preserve of politicians. Building trust in policing is a matter for all of us. so while the political fall-out from the arrest of Gerry Adams is likely to be resolved, to some extent, after the elections, allegations concerning the integrity of the PSNI may take longer to settle. Sinn Féin's allegations were clear. There is a dark side to the PSNI, containing a cabal (a group of conspirators) aimed at damaging Sinn Fein's electoral prospects and opposing peace. Sinn Féin supporters cheered. The DUP's Peter Robinson said it was an attempt at blackmail. The rest of us looked on in amazement, having believed in recent years that policing here was a model of honesty, integrity and good practice. Those who have no routine interaction with the PSNI have no way of establishing if it has a dark side. (Some who have had low-level dealings with the organisation would suggest that it certainly has a not-too-bright side, but that is an issue for another day.) However, it is unprecedented for a Deputy First Minister to assert that members of his executive's policing organisation have the sinister desire and, remarkably, the organisational freedom to implement political policing. In view of his position and in the interests of ethics and civic responsibility, we can only accept his claims at face value. (No one has argued that all policing is political - it reflects society's social and economic power and influence. In the Republic of Ireland, for example, prisoners are 25 times more likely to come from (and return to) deprived areas. In the Us, nine per cent of African Americans are imprisoned but only two per cent of whites. Instead of setting our new policing system in the context of social justice, we just opted for the same old sectarian head count and called it progress.) However, if we accept political policing in the narrow sectarian sense, there appears to be some evidence supporting Sinn Féin's claims. The High Court recently ruled that the PSNI failed to effectively police loyalist flag protests. Alternatively, it may be due to incompetence. This week the Auditor general said that the Policing Board's performance plan for the PSNI for 2013-2014 was unclear and therefore unreasonable. So if a cabal exists and operates as Sinn Féin claims, the Policing Board is seriously negligent in its governorship. It needs a rigorous audit process to ensure that decision-making cannot occur outside the legitimate processes. But the Board does not appear to have the slightest idea about which model of governance, if any, it is operating. Board meetings are just Stormont with uniforms present. To make a sensible assessment of Sinn Fein's claims, we need more information. Did they know of the cabal's existence when policing was devolved and thus prior to the arrest of Mr Adams? If not, were they sold a pup? If they did know, why did they not tell the rest of us? Do they know who and how many are in the cabal? Has the cabal influenced any other decisions? Have they reported the matter to the Police Ombudsman? What do they propose to do next? Most importantly, how can they support an organisation which they accuse of political policing? On Thursday Gerry Adams wrote that we still lack "civic, accountable, public service policing". But parts of it appear acceptable. On Wednesday, Daithí McKay MLA wrote: "We will support the [PSNI] progressives and the reformers." Politicians can presumably spot the difference, but how can the rest of us tell - and how could we support part of a policing body? If, for example, someone gives information to the PSNI on dissident republicans, how do they know it will not finish up on the dark side and ultimately with the (anti-peace) dissidents themselves? The SDLP has dismissed Sinn Féin's claims, so it has a basis for continuing to support the PSNI. But should nonpolitical organisations, such as the GAA and the Catholic Church, continue to support young nationalists seeking to join the PSNI, even though they may be unknowingly working for the dark side? It appears that Sinn Féin will continue to support the PSNI. But a growing number of others will now reserve judgment on it, pending further information. In the meantime, we are faced not with a choice between truth and justice, but between truth and political power. The old Stormont collapsed because it made the wrong choice. Until we receive clarification about the PSNI, the current Stormont is heading the same way and no amount of political resolution will save it.