Police underline commitmentto patrols in Milltown

Those in attendance at the meeting, which was well attended by the local community, listened to the PSNI Area Commander, Chief Inspector Darrin Jones present a report on the level of recorded incidents of anti-social behaviour in the area and what the police were doing about it.

Chief Inspector Jones said: “We are always glad of the opportunity to attend community meetings to provide reassurance to the local community that we take any concerns that they have very seriously. This meeting was well attended and demonstrated there is a perception in the community anti-social behaviour is taking place.

“Although this has not always been reported to the police, I have given a commitment that the area will continue to be patrolled regularly. I did emphasise the importance of reporting any anti-social or suspicious activity to the police, so we have an accurate picture of what is going on.”

Local DUP Councillor for Dunmurry Cross and Chairman of the Lisburn DPP Councillor Margaret Tolerton, speaking about the meeting, said: “Lisburn DPP find the meetings they have in the communities they visit very useful in finding out what the concerns are of the local people and how they feel the local police are performing their duties. In the case of Milltown, we heard loud and clear that the community were not happy with the level of police patrols, particularly police walking the beat.

“The police cannot be everywhere people want them to be all of the time, but have promised the people of Milltown to increase patrols where they can. However I must emphasise that local people, no matter where they live must report incidents to the police and not to assume that the police know what is going on. This is very much a two way relationship and the local community must fulfil their part of the bargain as well.

“A common complaint we get is that local people do not know who their local neighbourhood officers are and these officers were present at the meeting in Milltown. It was a great opportunity for local people to speak to their officers and get contact details from them as all Neighbourhood officers are issued with mobile phones. There was much networking done after the meeting was over and in many ways that is where the real business of the meeting was conducted,” Mrs Tolerton concluded.

Lisburn DPP will be holding a similar meeting for the people of Knockmore on Thursday, November 24 at 7pm in Knockmore Primary School.