PSNI whistle-blowers confirm force’s sectarianism

Calls for the reform of policing in the north of Ireland have increased following the news that four current or former Catholic members of the PSNI are taking High Court action against the force over sectarian discrimination.

It has been reported that one of the first Catholic recruits to the force following its rebrand from the RUC witnessed repeated sectarianism within the PSNI. These included the denigration of nationalist politicians, mocking of Catholic officers on Ash Wednesday, and one who referred to “Fenian b******s”.

His lawyer Kevin Winters said that when he joined just after the Good Friday Agreement “he did so with the best of intentions to help make a change to policing and society.

“He never envisaged that, 20 years later, he’d be instructing solicitors to take legal action in relation to some of the problems he encountered during that time.

“He feels strongly enough about it to take a stand and in doing so hopefully contribute to making a culture change.”

The case is one of four his firm has been involved in over the last nine months.

“The common thread running through each of the case details relates to embedded cultural sectarianism, some of which is at a low level but in other instances is quite significant,” he said.

He reported the difficulties to other whistle-blowers of institutional pressure “to keep quiet” and the risk of direct personal harm.

The cases offer an insider’s view of the sectarian harassment meted out by the PSNI against the broader Catholic population, and comes amid rising pressure for the force to be disbanded.

Statistics have revealed a large-scale project to subject the Catholic and nationalist population, particularly those in republican areas, to gratuitous and degrading stop-and-search procedures.

Previous incidents that have been caught on camera have shown members of the force singing sectarian songs while driving like joyriders. There have also been more serious allegations of continuing collusion with loyalist paramilitaries, gun running and undisguised attempts to cover-up past war crimes.

Nationalists and republicans from across the political spectrum have been engaged in peaceful protests at PSNI ‘community events’, most recently in Craigavon, County Armagh.

Saoradh’s Stephen Murney said the PSNI’s violent manhandling of the protestors for reading a statement showed the “reality of British rule in Ireland: force, suppression, and fear of any challenge to their authority.”

He pointed out that future events have been forced into secrecy and behind closed doors.

“In any so-called ‘normal’ society, public institutions do not have to hide from the people they claim to serve. Their retreat is proof of their illegitimacy and their weakness.”

Urgent Appeal