PSNI and risk aversion

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is a very different organisation to its predecessor, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). In this day and age - of fears about terrorism, high levels of security at airports and other 'transport hubs', armed police raids on the homes of Muslims innocent of any crimes, shoot-to-kill on the London Underground (Jean Charles de Menezes) and other ways in which policing in Britain is becoming increasingly militarised - it is surprising to see the PSNI backing away from confrontation with 'up to seven masked men - six with machine guns and one with a rocket launcher' who had set up a road block near Newry in south Armagh. The PSNI patrol pulled back to assess the situation. According to the BBC Sinn Fein's Conor Murphy

Murphy said residents could have been injured if the police had confronted the roadblock.

"I'm sure people wouldn't have wanted to see a shoot-out here," he said.

No doubt this is true, but in the context of the privatisation of security at army bases in Northern Ireland and the growth inclaims for posttraumatic stress disorder, it looks like the rationale for not challenging the patrol was based on risk averse policy approach, not just concerns about public safety.

The words of this PSNI officer, who had served in the RUC, suggest risk consciousness rather than robustness:

"I've never felt as vulnerable. After many years service in some sticky areas, I've never felt as vulnerable and so bereft of support," he said. "There was a lack of intelligence support, a lack of training. We should have known and been looked after more, but I felt isolated."

The comment by PSNI Chief Constable that "It was just a stunt by a group trying to be relevant," makes it sound more like a student prank rather than a challenge to state authority.