4 December 1997 Edition
Targeted for RUC charm
How community policing really works
The RUC are engaged in a ``charm offensive'' in the Upper Springfield according to local community activists.
Liam Stone, chairperson of Upper Springfield Community forum, says the offensive, which has been ongoing for some weeks now, is being run from the massive barracks recently commissioned on the Springfield Road.
``A Sergeant Robin Dempsey has been phoning around individuals involved in various projects in the area, identifying himself as a community police person and offering RUC assistance wherever it should be required or requested,'' Stone said.
To date the RUC man has contacted people from Moyard, New Barnsley, Springhill and Whiterock but has yet to convince anyone of any benefit to be gained by involving the RUC in any way in the development of the Upper Springfield area.
``Given most people's experience at the hands of the RUC it is hardly surprising that no-one wants to now this PC Plod even when he comes across like our very best friend,'' said a woman from New Barnsley whom the RUC contacted. ``It was really funny; after he got through introducing himself he says that he's not like the `rest of them', obviously referring to those other bad old RUC people''.
The man has been in the area for the past five years and is anxious at this time to help the people in tackling the multitude of problems that affect them. ``He told me that with his help the people could get possession of the ground recently vacated at the Henry Taggart Barracks,'' reported a man from Springfield Park.
Sgt Dempsey called a member of the recently formed Whiterock/Westrock residents association and mentioned that a particular vehicle ``was acting suspiciously in their area, and may have been involved in several attempted abductions of children''. The residents association checked out the story and no-one in the area knew anything about the vehicle or the attempted abductions.
During the last IRA cessation the RUC visited local schools to advise children on `Stranger Danger'.'' At the time local parents protested about the visits, calling them mere public relations exercises. It is also important to note that at that time the RUC also said that there had been attempted abductions in the Whiterock area and thus this was the reason for the school visits,'' said a spokesperson for the Frank Cahill resource centre.
``Their concern for the children and people of the Whiterock area rings a bit hollow given their record in the area. For years the Whiterock people suffered at the hands of a relatively few gangsters who seemed to act with impunity. The situation provoked newspaper headlines which painted a horrible picture of this area and its people. But acting on their own initiative the community soon turned things around and now they are at last enjoying the relative peace they themselves worked so hard to bring about,'' he said.
Just last week two of those people who were terrorising the Whiterock/Westrock showed up again in a stolen car. On Wednesday evening last the car they were driving crashed, killing a young woman.
``There's no doubt in my mind that the RUC can turn these hoods on and off at will. It is no coincidence that after the people took it into their own hands to deal with a problem that the RUC were unwilling to deal with, these two gangsters show up again to create a problem which the RUC can once more exploit,'' said Liam Stone. ``Every person in this area could give a valid reason for ignoring the approaches of Robin Dempsey. Personally I find it hard to forget that it was a `community policeman' who recruited [British agent] Martin McGartland.''
The RUC are engaged in a ``charm offensive'' in the Upper Springfield according to local community activists.
Liam Stone, chairperson of Upper Springfield Community forum, says the offensive, which has been ongoing for some weeks now, is being run from the massive barracks recently commissioned on the Springfield Road.
``A Sergeant Robin Dempsey has been phoning around individuals involved in various projects in the area, identifying himself as a community police person and offering RUC assistance wherever it should be required or requested,'' Stone said.
To date the RUC man has contacted people from Moyard, New Barnsley, Springhill and Whiterock but has yet to convince anyone of any benefit to be gained by involving the RUC in any way in the development of the Upper Springfield area.
``Given most people's experience at the hands of the RUC it is hardly surprising that no-one wants to now this PC Plod even when he comes across like our very best friend,'' said a woman from New Barnsley whom the RUC contacted. ``It was really funny; after he got through introducing himself he says that he's not like the `rest of them', obviously referring to those other bad old RUC people''.
The man has been in the area for the past five years and is anxious at this time to help the people in tackling the multitude of problems that affect them. ``He told me that with his help the people could get possession of the ground recently vacated at the Henry Taggart Barracks,'' reported a man from Springfield Park.
Sgt Dempsey called a member of the recently formed Whiterock/Westrock residents association and mentioned that a particular vehicle ``was acting suspiciously in their area, and may have been involved in several attempted abductions of children''. The residents association checked out the story and no-one in the area knew anything about the vehicle or the attempted abductions.
During the last IRA cessation the RUC visited local schools to advise children on `Stranger Danger'.'' At the time local parents protested about the visits, calling them mere public relations exercises. It is also important to note that at that time the RUC also said that there had been attempted abductions in the Whiterock area and thus this was the reason for the school visits,'' said a spokesperson for the Frank Cahill resource centre.
``Their concern for the children and people of the Whiterock area rings a bit hollow given their record in the area. For years the Whiterock people suffered at the hands of a relatively few gangsters who seemed to act with impunity. The situation provoked newspaper headlines which painted a horrible picture of this area and its people. But acting on their own initiative the community soon turned things around and now they are at last enjoying the relative peace they themselves worked so hard to bring about,'' he said.
Just last week two of those people who were terrorising the Whiterock/Westrock showed up again in a stolen car. On Wednesday evening last the car they were driving crashed, killing a young woman.
``There's no doubt in my mind that the RUC can turn these hoods on and off at will. It is no coincidence that after the people took it into their own hands to deal with a problem that the RUC were unwilling to deal with, these two gangsters show up again to create a problem which the RUC can once more exploit,'' said Liam Stone. ``Every person in this area could give a valid reason for ignoring the approaches of Robin Dempsey. Personally I find it hard to forget that it was a `community policeman' who recruited [British agent] Martin McGartland.''