Political Violence in Northern Ireland (From International Terrorism: The Decade Ahead, P 77-82, 1989, Jane Rae Buckwalter, ed. -- See NCJ-120184)

• NCJ Number: 120192
• Author(s): J Hermon
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 6 pages
• Sale Source: University of Illinois at Chicago
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. Presented at the Third Annual International Symposium on Criminal Justice Issues in 1988.

Annotation

Although the police in Northern Ireland (Royal Ulster Constabulary) cannot solve the problem of terrorism, police effectiveness and professionalism are indispensable to a peaceful outcome and the restoration of normality.

Abstract

As violence erupted on a large scale in Northern Ireland, a tribunal was established to inquire into the violence and disturbance. The tribunal concluded that the scale of the disturbances was not susceptible to control by police. Conditions were created in which the acceptance of and respect for law and order deteriorated seriously. Geographic areas were established under the control of paramilitary groups, and policing in these areas was negligible or nonexistent. Still, public order has not collapsed. The police have increasingly impacted the overall crime level in all forms. The police crime detection rate has continued to increase to compare favorably with other areas of the United Kingdom. Although the resolution of disorder and violence in Northern Ireland continues to be a political, economic, and social matter, the police must take all the organizational measures necessary to ensure that they are fit to assist in the task of reconciliation and reconstruction. Trust and cooperation between the police and the community are essential to the restoration and maintenance of peace.