A Stormont motion condemning the ramming of police vehicles that singled out South Armagh in particular has been condemned by local public representatives. The motion was brought before the Assembly on Monday 22 April by DUP MLA Keith Buchanan.
Newry & Armagh MLA Justin McNulty has taken strong objection to the motion. Mr McNulty said “I don’t know what the DUP were trying to accomplish by villainising South Armagh as being a world apart from the rest of the North, when we all know that attacks against police officers are far too common across the board.
Justin McNulty MLA
“The South Armagh Policing Review has achieved a lot, and there is more to do to implement that report fully. What the DUP have done with their stunts at Stormont doesn’t help to improve policing, in fact, it undermines what the PSNI themselves are saying."
He concluded “Violence and attacks against police officers are completely intolerable. Instead of lacing the boot into South Armagh, it would have made far more sense for the DUP to address these issues constructively."
Slieve Gullion Councillor Pete Byrne believes the South Armagh Policing Review has changed the face of policing in the area.
Cllr Byrne said “Given the success of the South Armagh Policing Review it’s incredibly disappointing to see the DUP using attacks on police as an opportunity to play politics and to reverse some of the progress that’s been made. Attacks on police should be condemned in the strongest possible terms, but the way to address these issues is not through Assembly motions like this.
“I have engaged extensively with local PSNI teams on issues around the ramming of vehicles and police chases and they have confirmed to me that they’ve applied for more liveried vehicles to keep the public safe when incidents of this nature occur. This motion goes totally against what the PSNI themselves are saying and does not reflect the views of people in South Armagh."
Cllr Pete Byrne
Cllr Byrne said that the next stage should be implementing the outstanding recommendations from the policing review in full. "We have around 80% of the recommendations now in place and it has completely changed the face of policing this community. We won’t be going backwards.”
The Motion
That this Assembly condemns those who resort to ramming police vehicles in an attempt to evade criminal enforcement action, including arrest; believes it is reprehensible that 77 PSNI officers were injured as a result of their vehicles being deliberately rammed in 2023; notes with concern that this was a 50% increase on 2022; highlights that the spate of such attacks in south Armagh has coincided with far-reaching and politically-motivated policing reforms in the area; stresses the need to assess the impact of the roll-out of additional non-armoured and liveried vehicles in Slieve Gullion on local crime trends; further notes the impact that ramming incidents have on operational policing resources, including through sickness absence and rising repair bills; and calls on the Minister of Justice to consider stronger custodial sentencing for those who weaponise their vehicles to attack police officers; and further calls on the Minister of Justice to prioritise a visible and effective Police Service by bringing forward a fair and ambitious budget settlement for the PSNI in the next financial year.
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