30/03/2010

Border Policing Gets Priority

Enhanced levels of cross-border co-operation are expected to aid the fight against the threat from dissident republicans.

Police on both sides of the border are to step up joint activities with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and An Garda Siochana agreeing what has been described as "a series of protocols that will increase joint working on investigations".

PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott (pictured) has said that the development will see more routine and faster transfer of evidence between the services, improved communication channels for officers and the ability to bring more prosecutions against individuals for crimes committed in the neighbouring jurisdiction.

"Our relationship with the Garda operationally is second to none and we have plans to take to both governments in future to improve that further," said Mr Baggott.

"We have got a joint piece of work at the moment looking at improving our co-operation even more," he said, while carefully emphasising that while "we are policing Ireland as an entity", it is "without breaching sovereignty".

Mr Baggott said the agreement would enable more joint policing to thwart cross-border human trafficking and smuggling.

There has also been a dramatic fall in the number of bank ATM ram-raid robberies which plagued both sides of the Irish border in 2009, with just one taking place this year in NI so far, in the border area, at Crossmaglen.

See: Cops 'Foil ATM Robbers'

(BMcC/GK)

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