LESSONS HAVE BEEN LEARNED FROM OMAGH BOMB PROBE CONTROVERSY - POLICING BOARD CHAIRMAN
Lessons have been learned from Omagh bomb probe controversy - Policing Board chairman
LESSONS have been learned from the controversy over the Omagh bomb investigation, Professor Desmond Rea, chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board has said.
Commenting about the latest Omnibus survey on the work of the Board and the delivery of policing services, Professor Rea said 49 per cent of those surveyed said they believed the Board handled the debate over the bomb inquiry poorly.
The survey of 1,100 people showed that 19 per cent thought the Board handled the Omagh debate very well or well, while 49 per cent thought it was handled very poorly or poorly.
A greater proportion of Catholic respondents, 22 per cent, thought the Omagh debate was handed very well or well, compared to 17 per cent of Protestant respondents.
Of those in the west, 24 per cent thought the Board handled the debate well or very well, while a similar response came from 19 per cent of those in Belfast and 14 per cent of those in the east of the Province.
Said Professor Rea: "The Omagh reports presented the Policing Board with an extremely difficult situation. Whilst the views of the community did not paint a very positive picture, we believe that we did not shrink from our responsibilities. The Policing Board acknowledged that there
were lessons to be learned, and hope that lessons have been learnt on all sides.
Disappointed
"Whilst we may be disappointed about the views reflected, ultimately we are more concerned about ensuring that the mechanisms put in place by the Board for the Omagh investigation are working effectively".
Other findings in the survey show that 59 per cent of people thought the police did a very good or fairly good job in their area That compared to a figure of 63 per cent in a similar survey in October 2001.
And 66 per cent of respondents thought the police did a very good or fairly good job in Northern Ireland as a whole. The comparative figure in 2001 was 69 per cent.
Other figures show that 70 per cent of respondents thought the police in their area treated Protestants and Catholics equally; 79 per cent had confidence in the police ability to provide a day-to-day service to all and 73 per cent had confidence in the police's ability to deal with public order situations.
However, only 38 per cent of those surveyed were satisfied with the level of police patrols, and 37 per cent were dissatisfied.
Professor Rea said the purpose of the survey was to inform the Board's consideration of how it was performing in the public eye.
"Naturally we are disappointed about some of the results, but it is early days and without this type of research we would not be able to make improvement to the delivery of our service," he said.
"If areas need attention, then appropriate action will be taken, but the community
must be assured that the Policing Board is fully committed to fulfilling all of its responsibilities," he added.
LESSONS have been learned from the controversy over the Omagh bomb investigation, Professor Desmond Rea, chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board has said.
Commenting about the latest Omnibus survey on the work of the Board and the delivery of policing services, Professor Rea said 49 per cent of those surveyed said they believed the Board handled the debate over the bomb inquiry poorly.
The survey of 1,100 people showed that 19 per cent thought the Board handled the Omagh debate very well or well, while 49 per cent thought it was handled very poorly or poorly.
A greater proportion of Catholic respondents, 22 per cent, thought the Omagh debate was handed very well or well, compared to 17 per cent of Protestant respondents.
Of those in the west, 24 per cent thought the Board handled the debate well or very well, while a similar response came from 19 per cent of those in Belfast and 14 per cent of those in the east of the Province.
Said Professor Rea: "The Omagh reports presented the Policing Board with an extremely difficult situation. Whilst the views of the community did not paint a very positive picture, we believe that we did not shrink from our responsibilities. The Policing Board acknowledged that there
were lessons to be learned, and hope that lessons have been learnt on all sides.
Disappointed
"Whilst we may be disappointed about the views reflected, ultimately we are more concerned about ensuring that the mechanisms put in place by the Board for the Omagh investigation are working effectively".
Other findings in the survey show that 59 per cent of people thought the police did a very good or fairly good job in their area That compared to a figure of 63 per cent in a similar survey in October 2001.
And 66 per cent of respondents thought the police did a very good or fairly good job in Northern Ireland as a whole. The comparative figure in 2001 was 69 per cent.
Other figures show that 70 per cent of respondents thought the police in their area treated Protestants and Catholics equally; 79 per cent had confidence in the police ability to provide a day-to-day service to all and 73 per cent had confidence in the police's ability to deal with public order situations.
However, only 38 per cent of those surveyed were satisfied with the level of police patrols, and 37 per cent were dissatisfied.
Professor Rea said the purpose of the survey was to inform the Board's consideration of how it was performing in the public eye.
"Naturally we are disappointed about some of the results, but it is early days and without this type of research we would not be able to make improvement to the delivery of our service," he said.
"If areas need attention, then appropriate action will be taken, but the community
must be assured that the Policing Board is fully committed to fulfilling all of its responsibilities," he added.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1064
Published Date: 27-Jun-02
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