SDLP calls for police station closures

They include those in Andersonstown, west Belfast, and Ballykinler, in County Down.

At a news conference on Tuesday, the party pressed for faster movement towards an unarmed police service.

Proposed closures

The SDLP said some police service sites could be closed with the centralisation of support services at other stations.

The party's proposals are contained in a six-page document.

The publication of the document follows a recent meeting with the NI Chief Constable Hugh Orde at which the SDLP asked him to make a fresh security assessment to reflect a more peaceful Northern Ireland.

The police and army bases listed include Ballykinler, Rosemount, Loughgall, Greyabbey, Cullybackey, Kells and other posts at Stormont, Hillsborough Castle, Sprucefield, Lisnasharragh and Knocknagoney.

The party also identified Andersonstown as one of its targets for closure - a move which Policing Board member Alex Attwood said could easily be justified.

"There are two major police stations at either end of the West Belfast constituency, Woodbourne and Grosvenor Road," he said.

"Therefore, in order to symbolise and demonstrate the move to community policing, an unnecessary police station like Andersonstown should close."

'Little policing purpose'

The party document said: "The SDLP believes that normalisation should be proceeding at an accelerating pace... and timescales for moving towards the objective of a routinely unarmed police service.

"A number of police stations have limited policing or security value, particularly in the context of a community-based policing framework."

" The community's needs for proper policing can be better and best served by other means "
Alex Attwood
SDLP

However, Ulster Unionist Policing Board member Fred Cobain said the document was evidence that the SDLP did not totally support the new police service.

"The worrying thing for me is there are members of the unionist community who have always said that irrespective of what changes you make to policing, it will never satisfy nationalists," he said.

The DUP said the SDLP's proposal to close the stations was a "desperate" attempt to keep votes from Sinn Fein in an assembly election.

The party's policing board member, Ian Paisley Junior, said any such move would be an act of folly.

The Police Federation, which represents officers in Northern Ireland, said the SDLP's calls to close the police stations and army bases and have unarmed officers were "fantasy".

'Disappointed'

Terry Spence said the federation had tried to meet the SDLP a number of times to discuss the policing issue.

"We are very disappointed that they have not engaged with us," he said.

Secretary of State Paul Murphy said such security decisions were a matter for the Chief Constable.

He said there would inevitably be movement towards a lower level of security if the current talks and the peace process progressed.

At a Downing Street meeting on 6 January the prime minister met both the chief constable and the outgoing Army GOC, Lieut Gen Sir Alistair Irwin.

Since then, proposals to dismantle and remove army watch-towers in border areas - including south Armagh - have been drawn up.

Sources suggest the Sinn Fein leadership is now aware of the plan - but its implementation depends on what the IRA is prepared to offer.