Comments on The Pensive Quill: A Decadent Police

What’s in a name? We would be foolish to believe t...

2009-08-18T11:43:21.210+01:00

What’s in a name? We would be foolish to believe the RUC mentality is not ripe within the PSNI.
In a strange irony their former nemeses the Provos are now holding their hands and bolstering their bigotry and confidence in that old cliché “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
It works out as a good deal for both Sinn Fein and the PSNI considering they both wish to crush anyone who does

Urban Underclass, I doubt if you are being unpatri...

2009-08-16T20:36:59.631+01:00

Urban Underclass, I doubt if you are being unpatriotic in the slightest. I proudly refuse to give them even the outermost preference should it be on the 99th count. They, Fine Gael and Libertas get nothing from me.

I think the situation on the ground in Armagh's Drumarg area states the case against SF in bald terms. The party is now part of the British administration and want

AM, At risk of seeming unpatriotic, but I don't vo...

2009-08-16T20:03:02.236+01:00

AM,
At risk of seeming unpatriotic, but I don't vote Sinn Fein down here and I wouldn't vote for them up there either.
Since the peace process began, they have bacome a party of political opportunists, north and south.

Urban Underclass, The RUC were frequently met wi...

2009-08-16T19:49:35.317+01:00

Urban Underclass,

The RUC were frequently met with a public outcry. I think the lack of same in relation to the PSNI is because the party that would have been behind generating any public outcry has bought into the system and stays mute. The PSNI can be held to account to a much greater degree than they currently are but accountability comes with exposure and there is not enough of

AM, Referring back to the leval of control exerci...

2009-08-16T14:48:53.212+01:00

AM,

Referring back to the leval of control exercised over the PSNI vs. The Gardai.
While there might be more legislation in place to control the PSNI, the Gardai don't get away with much before there is a public outcry.
Take for example the already mentioned McBrierty case in Donegal, which lead to a government tribunal of inquiry.

Having lived in the North until recent years and n...

2009-08-16T12:45:01.964+01:00

Having lived in the North until recent years and never having had the oportunity to have any interaction with an RUC man/woman other than when they were on duty it's refreshing to be in a community where young garda walk the streets and cycle around town doing their 'beat.' It's also a reasuring feeling [ hopefully not misplaced] to feel there is a community police service.

Urban Underclass, True that they terrorise natio...

2009-08-16T01:06:45.189+01:00

Urban Underclass,

True that they terrorise nationalist communities but I doubt that the Garda are more accountable

Larry, 'very personable decent sectarian bigots....

2009-08-16T01:05:15.153+01:00

Larry,

'very personable decent sectarian bigots.'

a funny way to put it now!

Anthony, of course it's a sectarian argumen...

2009-08-16T00:15:34.715+01:00

Anthony,
of course it's a sectarian argument, it's a sectarian police force and a sectarian topic. Policing in most countries is in the interests of the rich and propertied classes. That's why white collar criminals recieve such lenient sentencing worldwide. So the Garda are little different on that score. In N. Ireland and in the specific case of this article you posted

AM, When I wrote "they are human after all" I did ...

2009-08-15T18:33:37.957+01:00

AM,
When I wrote "they are human after all" I did not mean to imply that the PSNI are not.
I was thinking more in terms of my own troubled relationship with the Gardai, and how I struggle to see past the uniform to the human being underneath.

AM, Yes I would vouch for the fact that the Gardai...

2009-08-15T18:13:34.219+01:00

AM,
Yes I would vouch for the fact that the Gardai show a fair deal of contempt for the working class, but I do think they are more answerable.
We don't see them terrorizing communities as you have described the PSNI doing in this post.
They are our police, we need some kind of police force to maintain order.
Personally I think the typical type who wants to join

Urban Underclass, 'they are human afterall.' I am ...

2009-08-15T18:03:47.691+01:00

Urban Underclass, 'they are human afterall.' I am sure you don't mean it as such but does that make the PSNI less than human? There are as many decent PSNI types as there are Garda I imagine. Can't see why there wouldn't be. I have spoken on friendly terms with members of both forces. That does not prohibit me holding a political opposition to them

Larry Hughes, 'Yes the Garda have scary new laws ...

2009-08-15T17:58:46.533+01:00

Larry Hughes,

'Yes the Garda have scary new laws to deal with criminal gangs in the south. The difference is it will be applied by Irish people on Irish people. Not abused by 'British' police on Irish fenian scum.'

Larry, same as. The difference is unpersuasive. The Garda contempt for working class people is probably the same as the PSNI for nationalists. I

Urban Underclass 'The difference is, the Guards a...

2009-08-15T17:54:48.450+01:00

Urban Underclass

'The difference is, the Guards are answerable to us. (And they are Nationalists).'

Somehow, I don't think that would enamour me to them in the slightest. Getting kicked about by a nationalist is just as painful I imagine s being kicked about by a unionist.

As for being answerable 'to us' I think the PSNI is probably more

It’s very sad to read this post but unfortunately ...

2009-08-15T16:49:02.209+01:00

It’s very sad to read this post but unfortunately this is a way of life in the North for a lot of Catholics, especially in the Lurgan Portadown areas. These people have always been harassed by either RUC B-Specials or UDR all of which would be predominately protestant forces. This situation will pertain for years to come because the majority of people in the North would agree that this is the way

Larry wrote, The difference is it will be applied ...

2009-08-15T15:22:05.924+01:00

Larry wrote,
The difference is it will be applied by Irish people on Irish people. Not abused by 'British' police on Irish fenian scum.

This is true, while I have had a fair few scrapes with the law, there are a some Gardai who I get on well with, they are human after all.
There's one lad in particular who I have right chats with about music and dogs, two

Yeah, they have alot of power, I think the worst i...

2009-08-15T11:43:57.985+01:00

Yeah, they have alot of power, I think the worst is random searches of individuals on the street or cars.
I got searched for no reason while waiting for a bus recently, nothing on me but it was in a busy shopping district in the middle of the day and it was a bit embarrassing.
Also the public order offenses can be very loosely interpreted.
They are not above wading into fairly

Think it's the inherent sectarianism at work. Noma...

2009-08-15T10:09:39.762+01:00

Think it's the inherent sectarianism at work. Nomatter how many new laws are put in place in the North it's still going to be protestant police "invading" nationalist/catholic working class areas. Unfortunately SF are loath to "get down and dirty" where these incidents occur. They're more up-market these days. Major problems in policing,90% of catholic recruits to

Am, The difference is, the Guards are answerable t...

2009-08-14T21:38:27.723+01:00

Am,
The difference is, the Guards are answerable to us. (And they are Nationalists).
Rory

I can't see it changing any time soon. At the same...

2009-08-14T21:34:59.083+01:00

I can't see it changing any time soon. At the same time the Gardai will have powers that the PSNI don't yet have

Hardly community policing is it? Around my town th...

2009-08-14T21:13:54.965+01:00

Hardly community policing is it?
Around my town the Gardai walk or ride bicycles.

White ones, yes

2009-08-14T21:05:12.742+01:00

White ones, yes

Do the PSNI still go around in those horrible armo...

2009-08-14T11:08:07.649+01:00

Do the PSNI still go around in those horrible armored Land Rovers?
I saw them when I visited Belfast in 2002 and found them very intimidating