Durkan says ‘recreational rioting masquerading as republicanism in Derry’ led to police being drafted from elsewhere
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The Foyle MP made the comments whilst addressing police resources in the Stormont Assembly on Monday.
"Recent events have laid bare and made worse the dire budgetary situation in which the PSNI finds itself. For years, we have read the reports and heard the warnings, although some of us may have chosen not to hear them.
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Hide Ad"Now, however, everyone sees and feels the effects and impact of sustained underinvestment in policing. Whether for the policing of racially motivated rioting in Belfast or of recreational rioting masquerading as republicanism in Derry, reinforcements from elsewhere on these islands have been required.
"Our Police Service has had to request assistance, through mutual aid, to restore and maintain order on our streets and to protect people and property,” said Mr. Durkan, who is a member of the Policing Board.
The SDLP MLA wished police officers injured during the recent disorder swift and full recoveries.
"Our thoughts are also with their colleagues, who are under-resourced, overstretched and at constant risk of attack, injury or even worse, as they do their job every day and night to protect and serve the community,” he stated.
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Elsewhere, speaking at the annual British-Irish Association Conference in Oxfordshire at the weekend, Secretary of State Hilary Benn also mentioned both the rioting in Belfast alongside the attacks on police officers at the Nailor’s Row/Fountain interface in Derry.
“The scenes we saw last month in Belfast, in Derry/Londonderry and in many other parts of the UK, were shocking, there’s no other word for it and we must stand resolutely against senseless violence, intimidation and - let’s be blunt - racism,” he said.
On Monday the Assembly passed a motion supporting the Chief Constable Jon Boutcher in his campaign to secure additional resources for the PSNI.
MLAs re-endorsed the recommendation in Chis Patten’s 1999 report on policing reform in the North that the number of full-time police officers should be 7,500, with the ambition of increasing that number further.