Police commander explains why cops missed Newry anti-social behaviour meeting

District Commander for Newry Mourne and Down, Superintendent Norman Haslett was speaking after the Chairperson of the Anti Social Behaviour Group on Newry Mourne & Down Policing & Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) expressed his disappointment with the failure of the PSNI to attend their group’s monthly meeting on Tuesday.

Cllr Aidan Mathers (Sinn Féin) said that the failure by the PSNI to attend was a missed opportunity to discuss growing concerns about incidents in the district, and in particular the circumstances surrounding the recent death of Anu Okusyana in Newry.

“[The meeting] was an opportunity to discuss what myself and many others see as a worrying rise in the number of serious incidents in recent weeks, including attacks on property and people and organised anti social activities in the city.

"I had also hoped to raise concerns relating to the death of Health Worker Anu Okusyana and the response of the police to reported incidents by the deceased and her family. Clarification is needed as a matter of urgency.”

The Newry City Councillor continued, “The failure by the PSNI to attend what we view as a community engagement, is disappointing and indeed not acceptable.

"I have conveyed the anger of myself and the Group to the District Commander of Newry, Mourne & Down and expect a prompt and thorough response.

The Newry Reporter contacted the PSNI for a response to Cllr Mathers’ comments.

In a statement, District Commander for Newry Mourne and Down, Superintendent Norman Haslett said: “The Policing Community and Safety Partnership's (PCSP) anti-social behaviour meetings are important as they allow local police and PCSP members to identify and address issues which are of concern for the community.

“However, as I have explained to the PCSP member, on this occasion, we were operating at reduced staffing levels and the local neighbourhood sergeant who was to attend this meeting was involved in urgent operational duties in the city which had to take precedence. He was actually dealing with two ongoing anti-social behaviour issues at the time of the meeting.

“The implication of the budget on our resourcing is well-documented and, now more than ever, we need to prioritise our resources against threat, risk and harm in line with our policing plan.

“Our apologies were sent to the PCSP officer involved and I will be requesting a meeting with members in the near future to discuss community concern around serious incidents including attacks on property and anti-social behaviour in Newry City.

“We are fully committed to the PCSP, our professional relationship and working together for the community in Newry, Mourne and Down.”