Opinion

Allison Morris: We need a chief constable to investigate current crimes, not those of the past

George Hamilton is due to retire as PSNI chief constable in June. Picture by Niall Carson/PA Wire
George Hamilton is due to retire as PSNI chief constable in June. Picture by Niall Carson/PA Wire George Hamilton is due to retire as PSNI chief constable in June. Picture by Niall Carson/PA Wire

WE CAN never escape the past in Northern Ireland. Even if you’ve never experienced personal loss, you’ll never be too far from someone who has.

Not dealing with the past was one of the failures of the Good Friday Agreement. It was just too difficult and raw a process to tackle at the time. The early release of prisoners was tough for those few who had received judicial justice but for thousands more the chance of a day in court was denied and grows more remote with the passage of time.

There was not only political failure when it came to dealing with the past. There was and remains a dishonesty around what people can expect; unrealistic expectations, promises that can never be kept and endless litigation that ensures healing is put on hold. Millions have been spent on dealing with the past, little of that effectively.

A ‘line in the sand’ is a cruel way to deal with loss and grief. But in recent weeks we’ve seen the flaws in the current system, which isn’t so much a system as a mish-mash of reports, inquiries, investigations and inquests. And even these inadequate measures are only available to those who still have some fight left in them. Many more people have given up and bear their grief and anger in private despair.

What this mess has also done is poison attempts to reform policing. The RUC was a predominantly unionist force and its disbandment was meant to hail a new era in policing. I remember reporting on the changeover at the time. With a Policing Board and a Police Ombudsman, the PSNI promised to be a fair, independent and accountable service. There were those early optimistic days when all seemed like it would be a brighter, better world. But like everything in this place the past came back to haunt us.

The ombudsman, appointed to oversee policing the present, has since had the office role reversed to an investigator of the past. This has damaged relations between that office and the PSNI and also within the unionist community. Unionists who still feel ownership of the RUC see probes into past conduct as an attack on them. It is a position the ombudsman should never have been put into. It was not the intended role of that office.

And then there are the various chief constables we’ve had since 1998. Hugh Orde could see the problems the past would cause and set up the Historical Enquiries Team. Officers from that cold-case unit carried out a lot of good work that gave answers to many but it was far from perfect.

Last week the PSNI was again forced to defend its handling of cold-case investigations after it was revealed that information linked to weapons used in around 30 loyalist murders was not handed over to the ombudsman. In the final months of George Hamilton’s career, this is a scandal that perfectly sums up why the PSNI should not still be dealing with any aspect of legacy.

At a time when numbers of nationalists in the police remain low, the ongoing battles and almost monthly revelations regarding the past are creating a chill that Patten intended to have thawed long before now.

The Sinn Féin leader’s comments regarding the appointment of a new chief constable have implications around employment law that potential candidates are likely to raise and will now have to be addressed. But even if a qualified, capable and willing candidate from outside the PSNI stable is appointed, it will make little or no difference while the issue of legacy remains unresolved. Within months if not weeks the new chief constable, regardless of how good and honourable their intentions, will fall foul to the spectre of our past.

Since the start of the year there have been four murders in Northern Ireland. Organised crime is on the increase. More than 80 incidents of domestic abuse are reported every day to the PSNI.

We don’t need to find a chief constable to investigate acts of terror that happened 30 or 40 years ago. We need one to lead a credible, accountable and, more to the point, efficient modern police service.

The mechanisms to deal with the past have already been agreed during the Fresh Start talks. They’re not perfect. There is no ideal solution. But they will at least give families a point of contact and a chance of getting answers, if not justice.

The PSNI and the Police Ombudsman were never going to be able to solve legacy. They have both been damaged by any attempts to do so.

Troubles victims have been used as currency for far too long. It’s time to implement Patten as it was envisaged, otherwise we’ll still be having this same debate in another 20 years from now.

Ian Knox cartoon: 20/2/2019 - Investigations into loyalist and police collusion have been plagued by the disappearance of records. Meanwhile, Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald has caused convulsions in the recruitment process for the new chief constable 
Ian Knox cartoon: 20/2/2019 - Investigations into loyalist and police collusion have been plagued by the disappearance of records. Meanwhile, Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald has caused convulsions in the recruitment process for the new chief Ian Knox cartoon: 20/2/2019 - Investigations into loyalist and police collusion have been plagued by the disappearance of records. Meanwhile, Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald has caused convulsions in the recruitment process for the new chief constable