BOMB PROBE TEAM STILL PURSUING ALL POSSIBLE LINES OF INQUIRY
Bomb probe team 'still pursuing all possible lines of inquiry'
NI POLICING Board member, Mr. Joe Byrne, tabled a question at last week's Board meeting in Omagh, on the progress of the investigation into the 1998 Omagh bomb.
Assistant Chief Constable, Sam Kinkaid, head of the Crime Operations Department, said one person has been charged in relation to a series of events relating to the Omagh bomb, and that the investigation team was still pursuing all possible lines of inquiry.
"We have a considerable amount of resources in Omagh, and we continue to search and look out for evidence. The size of the team is still the same under the leadership of Del. Supt. Norman Baxter," he said.
Michael Gallagher, whose son, Aiden, was killed in the blast, was at the meeting.
He said it was unfortunate there was not more information about the Omagh investigation.
"Nevertheless it was worthwhile and significant that Omagh was chosen in the first place for the meeting, and Omagh was the first challenge the Policing Board had.
"It was informative, and good to see how the Policing Board works first hand. It was standing room only, a packed house, there was a lot of interest in it and reflects the interest in policing which has been a very, very difficult job. They are trying very hard to be accountable."
He said, however, that the only concern lay in the amount of work in the preparation of targets, because there is such a demand for accountability in this society.
Meanwhile, Policing Board member, DUP MLA Sammy Wilson, queried the situation with the longstanding murders of former police officers.
Historical cases
"If we are going to make decisions whether or not historical cases are going to be reviewed or re-assessed by the police by whatever mechanisms, can we do this at some stage?"
Deputy Chief Constable Paul Leighton replied "There are nearly 1,900 unsolved murders in Northern Ireland of all types of people and there are other deaths which require investigation.
"We, in the PSNI., are committed to trying to ensure equity, but what we must do is work firstly on cases where there are leads that we can follow: where there is an evidential trail for us to progress: where there is no evidential trail for us to progress: where there is no evidential trail surely our duty is to try to communicate with the families as soon as possible," he said.
ACC Sam Kinkaid said the police service had taken steps to source a crime review team which will be part of the new crime operations department.
"It will review current murder investigations, and will also have the capacity to examine historical cases.
"When you actually look at what we have put into the Omagh investigation, into Claudy, into the investigation of Mr. Kelly and other investigations, we have put considerable numbers of well qualified and senior detectives into these.
"In some of those cases we have been fortunate enough to bring charges recently, and there will always be a commitment in this organisation within the terms of our overall responsibility to look at cases that include the deaths of police officers and members of the UDR," he said.
Speaking to the Tyrone Constitution this week, Mr. Byrne, a member of Omagh District Council, said: "Given the fact there are so many murders of the past that are causing difficult due to the Ombudsman's declaration they were badly investigated, it is crucially important that some new mechanism is found to adequately address these outstanding cases.
"In those cases where the Ombudsman's office has determined that flawed or bad investigations took place, then the government authority in my opinion have to put a new mechanism in place to deal with these cases.
"The Policing Board, which was set up at the end of 2001 to oversee and hold the PSNI accountable, cannot be expected to deal with all of the outstanding murder cases prior to 2002."
He said the government had to face up to its responsibility and use extra resources to fund any special mechanism to deal with these cases.
"In cases that the Ombudsman determines that past murders were not effectively investigated by the RUC, then the PSNI should not be expected to deal with these cases.
"The priority for me as a Policing Board member is to make sure that the new beginning to policing is not jeopardised because of difficulties from the past handicapping our work in helping to deliver a more effective and efficient police service.
"We cannot continually have the PSNI and their new recruited officers shackled with the problems of the past, and have a Policing Board compromised in its work of being held accountable for the PSNI's performance and quality of service to the public," he added.
NI POLICING Board member, Mr. Joe Byrne, tabled a question at last week's Board meeting in Omagh, on the progress of the investigation into the 1998 Omagh bomb.
Assistant Chief Constable, Sam Kinkaid, head of the Crime Operations Department, said one person has been charged in relation to a series of events relating to the Omagh bomb, and that the investigation team was still pursuing all possible lines of inquiry.
"We have a considerable amount of resources in Omagh, and we continue to search and look out for evidence. The size of the team is still the same under the leadership of Del. Supt. Norman Baxter," he said.
Michael Gallagher, whose son, Aiden, was killed in the blast, was at the meeting.
He said it was unfortunate there was not more information about the Omagh investigation.
"Nevertheless it was worthwhile and significant that Omagh was chosen in the first place for the meeting, and Omagh was the first challenge the Policing Board had.
"It was informative, and good to see how the Policing Board works first hand. It was standing room only, a packed house, there was a lot of interest in it and reflects the interest in policing which has been a very, very difficult job. They are trying very hard to be accountable."
He said, however, that the only concern lay in the amount of work in the preparation of targets, because there is such a demand for accountability in this society.
Meanwhile, Policing Board member, DUP MLA Sammy Wilson, queried the situation with the longstanding murders of former police officers.
Historical cases
"If we are going to make decisions whether or not historical cases are going to be reviewed or re-assessed by the police by whatever mechanisms, can we do this at some stage?"
Deputy Chief Constable Paul Leighton replied "There are nearly 1,900 unsolved murders in Northern Ireland of all types of people and there are other deaths which require investigation.
"We, in the PSNI., are committed to trying to ensure equity, but what we must do is work firstly on cases where there are leads that we can follow: where there is an evidential trail for us to progress: where there is no evidential trail for us to progress: where there is no evidential trail surely our duty is to try to communicate with the families as soon as possible," he said.
ACC Sam Kinkaid said the police service had taken steps to source a crime review team which will be part of the new crime operations department.
"It will review current murder investigations, and will also have the capacity to examine historical cases.
"When you actually look at what we have put into the Omagh investigation, into Claudy, into the investigation of Mr. Kelly and other investigations, we have put considerable numbers of well qualified and senior detectives into these.
"In some of those cases we have been fortunate enough to bring charges recently, and there will always be a commitment in this organisation within the terms of our overall responsibility to look at cases that include the deaths of police officers and members of the UDR," he said.
Speaking to the Tyrone Constitution this week, Mr. Byrne, a member of Omagh District Council, said: "Given the fact there are so many murders of the past that are causing difficult due to the Ombudsman's declaration they were badly investigated, it is crucially important that some new mechanism is found to adequately address these outstanding cases.
"In those cases where the Ombudsman's office has determined that flawed or bad investigations took place, then the government authority in my opinion have to put a new mechanism in place to deal with these cases.
"The Policing Board, which was set up at the end of 2001 to oversee and hold the PSNI accountable, cannot be expected to deal with all of the outstanding murder cases prior to 2002."
He said the government had to face up to its responsibility and use extra resources to fund any special mechanism to deal with these cases.
"In cases that the Ombudsman determines that past murders were not effectively investigated by the RUC, then the PSNI should not be expected to deal with these cases.
"The priority for me as a Policing Board member is to make sure that the new beginning to policing is not jeopardised because of difficulties from the past handicapping our work in helping to deliver a more effective and efficient police service.
"We cannot continually have the PSNI and their new recruited officers shackled with the problems of the past, and have a Policing Board compromised in its work of being held accountable for the PSNI's performance and quality of service to the public," he added.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1685
Published Date: 12-Feb-04
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