Sinn Féin policing board member Alex Maskey urged the speedy creation of an unarmed police force in Northern Ireland when for the first time yesterday the party attended a public meeting of the board.
Mr Maskey, accompanied by fellow Sinn Féin member on the board, Daithi McKay MLA, said now was the time to "swing away" from the phenomenon of "Robocops" moving into areas to deal with policing problems.
As a further mark of the changing political landscape in Northern Ireland the third Sinn Féin representative on the 19-member board, Martina Anderson, was absent yesterday as she was travelling to Belgium as part of a cross-community peace initiative marking the 90th anniversary of the first World War Battle of Messines.
The three Sinn Féin members last week attended for the first time a private meeting of the board where Professor Sir Desmond Rea and Barry Gilligan were re-elected chairman and vice-chairman.
In the spirit of the prevailing powersharing politics, there was no grandstanding, tension or rows at the public session. However, the unresolved 2005 murder of Robert McCartney was mentioned during the private element of yesterday's meeting where more sensitive matters are aired.
His sisters, Catherine and Paula, who attended the public meeting, complained afterwards that they learned nothing new about the state of the murder investigation.
Ms Catherine McCartney again accused Sinn Féin of refusing to assist the police in their inquiry, even though they were now holding the police to account. Mr Maskey said that Sinn Féin wanted republicans to assist the investigation. At the public session Mr Maskey directly addressed the PSNI chief constable Sir Hugh Orde to state that the North must move towards a routinely unarmed police force and away from "Robocops" policing certain neighbourhoods. This should happen in a planned and structured way, and the policing board must develop a clear policy on the issue, he said.
"I don't have any Robocops," Sir Hugh Orde responded. He said the PSNI was the only routinely armed service in the UK and while the notion of a fully unarmed police force in Northern Ireland was a "non-starter" there were regular six-monthly reviews about how the armed nature of the service could be reduced.
Sir Hugh agreed with David Rose, formerly deputy leader of the Progressive Unionist Party, that police officers must be confident that they were sufficiently armed and prepared for all eventualities.
He further disclosed that the PSNI was planning to introduce electroshock Taser guns, for possible deployment from next year "where they were the less lethal option". He stressed that they would not be routinely handed over to police officers.
Sir Hugh reiterated his support for 50:50 Catholic/Protestant PSNI recruitment until 2010 when 30 per cent of the force is scheduled to come from the Catholic or nationalist community. The PSNI disclosed that of more than 600 Poles who applied to join the PSNI, not one was successful.
Of the recent burglary of Ballynahinch PSNI station while officers were out on patrol, assistant chief constable Duncan McCausland said the lesson was very simple: "close your windows when you go out and stick your alarm on".
