PSNI

In most conflicts, the main part of the problem…consists and getting people to talk and listen to one another.

~ Howard Raiffa, The Art and Science of Negotiation

Today's correspondent is Kurt Eicher:

Am I awake or dreaming? Everything in the last 24 hours seemed to go very wrong. My day started at the police barracks where we had to pick up one of the members of our group known as Michelle Gattenio. She was arrested the night before for creating a public disturbance and possession of a false passport! This member of the “Belfast Nine” that we trusted, and so dearly loved, is now labeled as a common criminal. Then I awoke from my nightmare and realized that a new day started. But, policing was on my mind…

We began the day like any other, with breakfast followed by or Ignatian prayer. Today was our day with the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland). We left or dorms for the Police Department where our group was given a lecture by Sergeant Davies. Sergeant Davies’ lecture was extremely informative and particularly interesting because of the relevance of the information on our understanding of the Northern Ireland’s “troubles” and continuing tension. We were then briefly greeted by the District commander of North and West Belfast. We were told that the presentation we would hear is similar to one’s given to visitors with the PSNI from Iraq, Israel, South Africa and other “hotspots” around the world. Increasing numbers of people come to Belfast who want to learn from the experience of Northern Ireland and its transition out of conflict; which is why we are here.

Sergeant Davis spoke about the severity of the situations at Orange Parades and how walking only a few meters into a contested area can cause rioting for weeks. He showed us surveillance and aerial footage from a 2005 event to demonstrate his point. The Orange Parades on the 12th of July, are still the biggest policing event of the year and require months of preparation. Another point he made clear, was the fact that the police units in Belfast during the “troubles” considered themselves a third entity between the nationalist/republicans and unionist/loyalist communities. Trying to keep order put the police against all of the paramilitary groups like the IRA and the UVF - making the law enforcements jobs harder. He expressed that policing here has been difficult due to attacks by paramilitary groups and community distrust of the police. Some attacks were in plain sight, while others, like the “come on” tactic, was carried out by calling in a minor complaint just to lure out the police so the various paramilitary groups could ambush them. The legacy of this continues today with a hesitation to quickly respond to calls in some areas. He also mentioned that in order to be effective as a law enforcement agency, you need to build relationships with the people you protect. Since the police service was historically overwhelmingly Protestant building relationships and inroads with the Catholic community is still very difficult.

Today building community relationships is essential to building a police service in an intense post conflict society. The police have had to build relationships with suspected paramilitary leaders in order to build inroads into communities. Even though sometimes a community leader’s paramilitary connections are obvious (“even the dogs on the street know”), the police would not attempt to arrest them for participating in paramilitary activities. The rational given is that in this unique situation it would be counter productive to building long term peace. This obstacle creates difficulties while trying to dismember these violent groups, but also creates opportunities to develop new technologies, like the CCTV surveillance systems. These camera stations, he explained, are strategically placed around the city so to keep a watchful eye on rabble rousers. After explaining subtleties of the department’s strategy for fighting crime, he got to his main point, which was very important and can be used in the U.S. relations with terrorism. The point was that the most important thing in dealing with a double minority conflict as in Ireland, or any conflict for that matter, is to have an open dialogue between the opposing sides. People must talk with their enemies if there is ever to be peace. The district commander stated one day the US will have to speak with enemies if peace is to come. He stated that this was not an attack on the US; just his personal experience of what is working here. Within an environment like Northern Ireland and others (Middle East), you cannot impose direct rule or law. Force may win a battle; but cannot build a peace. You must open discussion with all parties in a conflict to have a better understanding of each side; this will draw the conflict closer to a compromise.

After such a moving lecture, we all went down to the departments “canteen”, or cafeteria, where we ate a delicious meal of chicken and “champ”(mashed potatoes). Shortly after eating, we had the privilege of visiting the temporary prison cells. While in the cell wing, we also went through the interrogating room and then we were off to the parking lot. When we asked why we were going to the parking lot, the leading officer said we could “inspect” the riot control vehicles. These iron monsters were roughly 4 tons and clad with one inch steel plates, along with alarms and bullet proof glass.

After the wonderful tour of the North and West Belfast Police Districts we went on a brief bus tour, where we took a look at the "peace walls." The funny thing is that the peace walls actually preserve the conflict instead of creating peace. The conflict is preserved by the continuing separation and ignorance of other culture, which ties into the Sergeants’ lecture on the steps toward resolved conflict. During the tour we saw that a new peace wall is being built. Here is the irony of the peace wall: it is being built next to an integrated school (both Catholic & Protestants). The people in this community want there children to be in school together, but cannot live next to one another without a wall! Once back at the dorm we had an hour of well deserved relax time, which was followed by classes. With Ms. Duarte we continued our discussion of Reading in the Dark.

Then, the students and Mr. Bizga traveled down Malone Rd. to Speranza, a fine Italian eatery. The pasta was amazing and the banana and toffee pie was equally delicious. The meal concluded our day, as most of us headed back to the dorms to finish up papers and reading for class the next day.

Kurt

Please follow this link to see more photos from our day!