THE union representing staff working for the Probation Board have said members should no longer have to work with offenders linked to republican groups until a threat against them is lifted.
Probation officers were told yesterday a threat had been issued against workers living or working in republican areas, and warned an attack against staff is now "strongly possible".
The union representing Probation Board staff said they were "understandably concerned" and called for a review of security at probation offices.
Dooley Harte of NIPSA said they would work with probation board management "to ensure all necessary action are taken to ensure that their staff, our members, are protected from these threats".
UUP MLA Doug Beattie said it was "absolutely disgraceful that dissident republicans should issue threats to probation workers.
"It is long past time that we stopped pandering to these groups. Instead of giving them privileges and status within the prison system via the hugely expensive and disruptive separated regime system, we need to end it and treat them as the organised criminals they are," he said.
Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly said: "This is a threat against staff, all of whom are social workers and over 70 per cent of are women".
"The Probation Service plays an important role within the justice system, particularly in terms of preventing reoffending and keeping communities safe," he said.
"That is in stark contrast to the actions of the groups issuing these threats because they bring nothing but fear and misery to communities", he added.
