£12m a year to ‘police the past’
INVESTIGATING past atrocities is costing police in Northern Ireland £12 million a year, it was revealed yesterday (2nd September 2010).
That includes supplying 31 inquests with redacted documents and supporting a Historical Enquiries Team (HET) investigating more than 3,000 unresolved killings.
Deputy chief constable Judith Gillespie told the Policing Board in Belfast: “Twelve million pounds spent on policing the past is not £12 million spent on policing the here and now.
“We would much rather spend our policing budget on policing the here and now but we understand there are emotive issues.”
South Africa dealt with crimes committed during the apartheid era by establishing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which examined events between 1960 and 1994.
A similar commission was recommended last year by Lord Eames and Denis Bradley, who looked at how Northern Ireland should deal with the legacy of the Troubles.
If implemented, the commission would take the place of the HET and any ongoing investigations by police ombudsman Al Hutchinson.
