Four Northern Ireland police officers suspended over racist and sectarian texts
Robust inquiry promised by Police Service of Northern Ireland after allegedly racist and sectarian text messages discovered
The Police Service of Northern Ireland has suspended four officers after an internal inquiry into racist and sectarian text messages.
The PSNI's deputy chief constable, confirmed on Friday night her force had in the past investigated incidents of phone text racism.
Judith Gillespie said: "We have had previous investigations who used racist texts and they were dealt with very seriously but this is the first time I can recall that we've suspended four officers."
She pledged that racism and sectarianism would not be tolerated in her force.
The allegedly offensive texts were found during an investigation, but the PSNI said that they are not connected to the suspensions of eight Metropolitan police officers and a civilian staff member of the London force.
A police spokesman said that the suspensions in Northern Ireland on Thursday came "through internal PSNI mechanisms and will be robustly investigated".
The officers at the centre of the inquiry work in various areas of the PSNI but are not senior officers.
Gillespie added : "It is absolutely unacceptable for officers to engage in racist and sectarian language, and far less to exchange that in the form of texts to each other.
"The message is loud and clear, that racist and sectarian behaviour on the part of police officers is absolutely not tolerated by the Police Service of Northern Ireland."
Commenting on the offensive nature of the texts, Gillespie told a press conference: "I would be confident that if you had access to any of these texts, you would find them deeply offensive."
The deputy chief constable went on: "I have to say I'm very proud to be the deputy chief constable - we have a very proud record of service - but in terms of the context of these four officers' behaviour this is not my proudest day."
Brian Rea, the chairman of the Policing Board, which oversees the PSNI , said: "The board and the community expect the highest professional and ethical standards from all its police officers and those who fall short must be dealt with robustly.
"The action taken by the PSNI in respect of the allegations made against these four officers is to be welcomed. Misconduct of this nature cannot be tolerated by the PSNI," he said.
This latest controversy is a blow to a police service that has been subjected to major reforms over the last decade.
The PSNI has to some extent shorn the old image of the Royal Ulster Constabulary as a pro-unionist, Protestant dominated force.
At the height of the Troubles there were up to 14,000 serving RUC officers, 90% of whom were Protestants. Reforms after the 1998 Good Friday agreement saw the RUC renamed as the PSNI and a 50-50 recruitment policy was launched to bring in more Catholic officers. Currently about 30% of PSNI staff are Catholic.
But the Northern Ireland Council on Ethnic Minorities found in a report conducted by the Institute of Conflict Research that around one in seven people of ethnic-minority origin would feel they would be "treated poorly" if they joined the PSNI because of their race or colour.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/apr/06/police-northernireland?intcmp=239
(Small humble request: Could we get a "Sectarianism" tag at some point that I could add to this article?)
The Police Service of Northern Ireland has suspended four officers after an internal inquiry into racist and sectarian text messages.
The PSNI's deputy chief constable, confirmed on Friday night her force had in the past investigated incidents of phone text racism.
Judith Gillespie said: "We have had previous investigations who used racist texts and they were dealt with very seriously but this is the first time I can recall that we've suspended four officers."
She pledged that racism and sectarianism would not be tolerated in her force.
The allegedly offensive texts were found during an investigation, but the PSNI said that they are not connected to the suspensions of eight Metropolitan police officers and a civilian staff member of the London force.
A police spokesman said that the suspensions in Northern Ireland on Thursday came "through internal PSNI mechanisms and will be robustly investigated".
The officers at the centre of the inquiry work in various areas of the PSNI but are not senior officers.
Gillespie added : "It is absolutely unacceptable for officers to engage in racist and sectarian language, and far less to exchange that in the form of texts to each other.
"The message is loud and clear, that racist and sectarian behaviour on the part of police officers is absolutely not tolerated by the Police Service of Northern Ireland."
Commenting on the offensive nature of the texts, Gillespie told a press conference: "I would be confident that if you had access to any of these texts, you would find them deeply offensive."
The deputy chief constable went on: "I have to say I'm very proud to be the deputy chief constable - we have a very proud record of service - but in terms of the context of these four officers' behaviour this is not my proudest day."
Brian Rea, the chairman of the Policing Board, which oversees the PSNI , said: "The board and the community expect the highest professional and ethical standards from all its police officers and those who fall short must be dealt with robustly.
"The action taken by the PSNI in respect of the allegations made against these four officers is to be welcomed. Misconduct of this nature cannot be tolerated by the PSNI," he said.
This latest controversy is a blow to a police service that has been subjected to major reforms over the last decade.
The PSNI has to some extent shorn the old image of the Royal Ulster Constabulary as a pro-unionist, Protestant dominated force.
At the height of the Troubles there were up to 14,000 serving RUC officers, 90% of whom were Protestants. Reforms after the 1998 Good Friday agreement saw the RUC renamed as the PSNI and a 50-50 recruitment policy was launched to bring in more Catholic officers. Currently about 30% of PSNI staff are Catholic.
But the Northern Ireland Council on Ethnic Minorities found in a report conducted by the Institute of Conflict Research that around one in seven people of ethnic-minority origin would feel they would be "treated poorly" if they joined the PSNI because of their race or colour.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/apr/06/police-northernireland?intcmp=239
(Small humble request: Could we get a "Sectarianism" tag at some point that I could add to this article?)