Those involved in disorder ‘will be pursued with full force of law’ – chief

Northern Ireland’s chief constable has warned that anyone engaging in further disorder will be “pursued with the full force of the law”.

Jon Boutcher was speaking after almost a week of nightly disorder across Belfast following on from an anti-immigration rally last weekend.

He slammed the “lies, misinformation and absolute nonsense spread online” following the murder of three girls in Southport , saying it led to the scenes of disorder across the country, questioning if those involved with the trouble even know the names of the girls.

In a direct message to those behind the order, he urged them to stop, consider what they’re doing, and be aware they will be pursued if they break the law.

Please stop this, because if you don't, you will be arrested and you will be prosecuted, and we will have the officers through mutual aid to be able to do that for as long as we need to

Police have come under sustained attack, a police vehicle doused with petrol and set alight, officers injured as well as members of the public attacked in suspected hate incidents and two businesses owned by people from a minority ethnic background have been destroyed in south Belfast.

There have also been incidents in north, east and west Belfast.

On Thursday afternoon, police said they had made 17 arrests so far with 11 charged to court.

Four people, including a 15-year-old boy, have appeared before Belfast Magistrates’ Court so far. All four were remanded.

Speaking to media after attending a meeting of the Stormont Executive, Mr Boutcher said 120 officers from Police Scotland are expected to arrive next Tuesday to support his officers.

“The PSNI will deal with this disorder.

“Those people who have come out to commit these hateful crimes will be pursued with the full force of the law,” he said

“As we speak, we are going to addresses to arrest people for the disorder on Saturday night.

“We will be putting out images today of others that we have yet to identify who committed these crimes.

“There is no place in society for this.

“I have met the leadership of the Muslim communities, but all our migrant communities, all our diverse communities feel under threat.

“They feel a fear of the like I have not seen in over 40 years of policing. That’s not just here, that’s across the country.

“This has got to stop and we will stop it.”

Mr Boutcher described the workforce as exhausted but said with the support of officers from Scotland they will have the resources to pursue those behind disorder.

“I’ve been in touch since the weekend with the chief constable of Police Scotland.

“Scotland hasn’t seen the disorder, fortunately, that there has been elsewhere,” he said.

“They’ve been asked for resources into England to support them, and there are huge challenges with all the forces in England that you’ve seen in the last few days.

“Through the National Co-ordination Centre, we have ensured that our voice has been heard because we cannot stand up and stand alone to deal with disorder like this anymore, we need support.

“So I’ve asked for those four police support units (PSUs), which is around 120 officers to be with us on Tuesday so they can assist us through to next Sunday because we have a lot of events and a lot of parades. We need to make sure that we can police those properly.

“Those PSU officers are trained to a high standard to deal with public order so having those additional resources is vital to allow us to do the policing we need to do to be prepared for any future disorder.

“But my message to anybody who is even thinking about coming out to commit any of these offences is just take a moment to think why you are doing it, what is this doing to society, to your own neighbourhoods.

“ People who have come to this country to the UK, to Northern Ireland from elsewhere, come to add value to our society.

“They add a richness to our society. We’re all the same. There is far more that joins us together than separates us.

“I really want to send a message to people who are even thinking of doing anything, please don’t.

“Please stop this, because if you don’t, you will be arrested and you will be prosecuted, and we will have the officers through mutual aid to be able to do that for as long as we need to.”

The PSNI has around 6,340 officers, far under the recommended 7,500.

Mr Boutcher said it is an “outlier” compared to any other police organisation in England, Wales or Scotland, or the gardai.

“The Executive do not get enough money for the public services of Northern Ireland,” he said.

“I’m the chief constable, I have spoken to each of these ministers and to the Prime Minister and to the Treasury, so we will sort this out.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We have received a number of requests for mutual aid and these are being considered, balanced against the needs of policing in Scotland.

“As a national service, Police Scotland has the ability to flex resources where the need is greatest in order to keep people safe.”