CROSS-border cooperation in policing will be enhanced by a new strategy agreed by the PSNI and Garda, it has been claimed.
Paramilitarism and organised crime will be among the areas focused on in the updated Cross Border Policing Strategy, which will be the basis for the work of the Joint Agency Task Force.
It was announced by Stormont justice minister Claire Sugden and Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald at yesterday’s annual Cross Border Organised Crime Conference in Enniskillen.
PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton and Garda Commissioner Noirín O'Sullivan both welcomed the new strategy, insisting it would make their forces' jobs easier in combating criminals.
Mr Hamilton said the foundation for success in joint police activity "has been, and will continue to be, the strength and depth of the trust and co-operation" between the PSNI and An Garda Sióchána at all levels.
This updated framework, he said, would provide a valuable platform for both services to embark on further joint activity on issues including rural policing and intelligence sharing.
The work of the Task Force was highlighted earlier this month when PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Will Kerr said Garda were assisting police north of the border to the extent that it saved a life "every month" in Northern Ireland.
Ms Sugden said continued cross-border cooperation in policing was vital, and "has undoubtedly saved lives, prevented crime and enabled the detection of criminals who would seek to bring misery to communities on both sides of the border".
The ministers also used the summit to discuss the cross-border policing and justice implications of the UK's vote to leave the European Union.
