Write a commentA tweet showing a photograph of heavily armed PSNI officers at Crossmaglen Police Station on Christmas Day has been condemned as offensive by local political representatives and has been the subject of heated debate ever since by members of the public.
The photograph was taken on a Christmas Day visit to the station by Simon Byrne, Chief Constable of the PSNI and in his Tweet accompanying the image he said "On Christmas morning great to meet the team policing Crossmaglen @psninmdown I take my hat off to colleagues policing such a unique part of @policeserviceniTheir sense of duty & optimism is inspiring. Stay safe and thank you."
One person called it the "Weirdest, most inappropriate tweet of Christmas Day" while another said "What Christmas message requires Automatic Rifles? Do Yous seem to think there’s still some sort of war going on or was it a “let’s show everyone the new equipment we got” via a twitter post on Christmas Day? “Keeping people safe” = keeping people scared." while another took the opposite view "Thank you for your service and effort. Police are right and proper to be armed. They are out to protect the public. Need more on the beat in belfast though."
Slieve Gullion Councillor, Pete Byrne said “While many families across South Armagh were waking up, opening presents and enjoying their Christmas morning, they were hurt and offended to see a Twitter post from the PSNI Chief Constable, featuring officers with heavy weaponry on show." adding "This isn’t an ill judged tweet, the wording appears to be a deliberate attempt to set Crossmaglen and South Armagh as a place apart."
Cllr Byrne concluded "While we all appreciate police officers and other emergency services working on Christmas Day, questions must be asked about the nature of this post. Language and images like this flies in the face of the positive work that has been achieved."
Explaining that he will be seeking a meeting with the Chief Constable the Slieve Gullion Councillor added “This will be an opportunity to discuss wider policing issues in South Armagh. There has been a worrying upsurge in the amount of burglaries in the Camlough and Bessbrook areas. The response locally in my opinion has been poor and done little to instil confidence in policing. I am also keen to highlight what purpose militarised barracks in Crossmaglen and Newtownhamilton now serves in 2019.”
Conor Murphy, MLA commenting on the tweet claiming that policing in the area was "unique" said “This post by the Chief Constable is offensive to the local community and utterly unacceptable. It has only served to further undermine the public confidence in the PSNI within South Armagh.
“The heavily armed officers posing with the Chief Constable is reflective of the militaristic style of policing that the community in South Armagh has had to endure in recent years.
“This community is no different to any other, any attempt to differentiate the style of policing has not and will not be tolerated."
Concluding Mr Murphy added “We need a new chapter for policing in South Armagh. We need an end to fortress police stations, heavily armed officers and poor response levels. We need a police service that serves the interests of this community in an efficient, effective and respectful manner. This community not only deserves nothing less, but will accept nothing less.”
The Chief Constable later issued a press statement in reply to the criticism saying "The officers are carrying weapons and, sadly, this is the stark reality of the policing environment they work in, tackling the severe terrorist threat" adding "This is no reflection on the local community who work daily with their local police officers to create a safe community"
"There is no doubt that much progress has been made in the towns and villages of South Armagh and my Christmas Day visit to officers who are working really hard to contribute to this progress is an indication of my commitment to build safer communities and tackle the terrorist threat."
