Remarks on PSNI ill-timed
THE comments about the police by regional development minister Conor Murphy will certainly raise a few eyebrows.
Mr Murphy said he would have reservations if either of his children decided to join the PSNI.
He was critical of police culture – and in particular voiced his belief that the service was 'conservative and male-dominated' and said the attitude of people who were in charge of upholding the law needed to be challenged and changed.
It should be remembered that Mr Murphy is a staunch republican from south Armagh who was convicted of possessing weapons in the '80s. One wonders how progressive the culture within the ranks of the IRA was at the time, and how female-friendly the organisation that butchered and bombed innocent civilians was?
The PSNI has done a lot to make itself 'human rights' compliant and to redress sexual and religious imbalances (indeed some would argue that in a few respects they have gone too far) so a rebuke from a minister such as this will not have been welcomed at Brooklyn.
His remarks have also struck a discordant note from some of his colleagues, notably Martin McGuinness, Gerry Adams and Gerry Kelly, who have, publicly at least, offered their support to the PSNI.
Mr Murphy, who has pursued his executive portfolio with quiet efficiency, is no doubt expressing genuinely-held misgivings about the PSNI.
But, regrettably, his ill-timed comments will be seized upon by those who are opposed to our police service, and who have more sinister agendas.
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Weather for Belfast
Tuesday 14 February 2012
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Temperature: 6 C to 8 C
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