Policing Services (Hansard, 21 June 1973)

§ 4. Mr. Biggs-Davison
asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will make a statement about the future policing of disturbed areas of Northern Ireland.

§ Mr. David Howell
At present the policing of disturbed areas has to be undertaken jointly by the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Army. It is intended that the Royal Ulster Constabulary should take over full responsibility for policing in all areas.

§ Mr. Biggs-Davison
I am grateful for that reply, but will my hon. Friend take this opportunity to place clearly on the record of this House—if someone will condescent to print it—that there is absolutely no truth in the rumours that have been deliberately circulated by people who ought to know better that Her Majesty's Government intend to supersede this magnificent force, to which we are so grateful—the Royal Ulster Constabulary—in parts or in the whole of Northern Ireland?

§ Mr. Howell
Yes. I gladly place on the record that there is no truth in these rumours.

§ Mr. McNamara
What thought are the Government giving to the enormous problem of making the policing of former Republican "no-go" areas and, presumably, Protestant "no-go" areas more acceptable to the populations in those areas? It is a regrettable fact, but a fact, none the less, that in many areas the RUC is not acceptable as a fair and impartial police force. What is the police force doing to remedy the situation and win back the confidence of the people in those areas?

§ Mr. Howell
We are well aware of the problem, but we have to be careful about the meaning of the word "acceptable". At the moment there are extensive operations by the Army and the RUC in a number of areas, and the hope must be to return normal policing services to all areas. That is what all the people must surely want.

§ Mr. McMaster
Will my hon. Friend confirm that there is no intention of splitting the police force in Northern Ireland, and that he will not respond to Republican propaganda along these lines, which is designed to undermine the morale of our police?

§ Mr. Howell
I have given a firm assurance to my hon. Friend the Member for Chigwell (Mr. Biggs-Davison), and I do not think I can go further than that.

§ Mr. Stallard
I hope that the hon. Gentleman will accept that I view the subject-matter of this Question as one of the most important problems yet to be solved in the Northern Ireland crisis. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that some of us believe that there has been a tremendous increase in the amount of what might be termed "normal" crime in the Six Counties in recent months? Some of it has been attributed to the IRA or the UDA, but it is normal thuggery, hooliganism and protection rackets. Some of us are disturbed at the hon. Gentleman's apparent complacency, which comes through the lack of constructive proposals for the future policing of the Six Counties.

§ Mr. Howell
The hon. Gentleman is right in his analysis of crimes. Some very unpleasant crimes have been committed. But I cannot see any ground for his use of the word "complacency". The efforts of the RUC in maintaining law and order have been highly successful. Sentences totalling 281 years, plus one life sentence, were imposed by the courts in May of this year alone. In that month 104 people appeared before the courts, 80 of whom were found guilty. The RUC has been highly successful in prosecuting the war on crime. It remains a desperately serious problem, and "complacency" is not the word to use here.