Nigel Goddard says Derry officers have upped security after ‘shocking and horrific’ attack on John Caldwell

The Derry and Strabane Police Commander told the ‘Journal’ extra security measures have been taken after Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was shot several times at Killyclogher in February.

“It was a shocking and horrific attack. The threat level was already up at ‘substantial’ which meant that the national, NI threat level, as set by Mi5 independently was already at substantial which meant an attack ‘was likely’,” he told the ‘Journal’.

Chief Superintendent Goddard admitted police in Derry were already on relatively high alert after dissident republicans detonated an explosive device in an attempt to kill two police officers in Strabane on November 17, 2022, and, in a separate incident on November 20, 2022, left a bomb in a hijacked car at the Waterside Police Station.

“We had clearly been experiencing that here in Derry City and Strabane from the November attacks, from the Waterside attack,” he said.

However, Ch/Supt. Goddard said the shooting of DCI Caldwell as he packed footballs into his car with his young son in February represented a new low.

"When the attack on DCI Caldwell happened it felt like a step change of attack because it was incredibly audacious, reckless, an attempted murder at close range when he is out doing football coaching with his son. That's a kind of big jump isn't it?

"But if you look back, I guess, an attack was likely. Now there was a review of that by the security services which put up the threat level to severe, one of the highest it can be. The difference is, not that an attack is likely, but that an attack is highly likely.

"So they are the nuances between the different levels but, of course, with that it does cause us to reflect about how officers patrol, about officers' safety and community safety,” he said.

After the attempted murder of DCI Caldwell there was an uplift in the level of response across the the PSNI.

“We have been consistently, and certainly since November, operating at a sort of higher level of safety awareness and patrolling strategies to try to mitigate the risk and the threat. Again that was reviewed,” he said.

This has involved putting officers on a 12 hour shift pattern, among other measures.

“When we do, it's obviously because I've got the concern and safety of my own officers [in mind], many of whom, are young in service, and it causes themselves significant...’bloody hell, I'm not sure this is the neighbourhood policing I've joined up for’.”

Despite the heightened threat and state of alertness Ch/Supt. Goddard is committed to ensuring that visible neighbourhood and community policing continues as normal.

“We do need to make sure that we manage that proportionately and that officers don't automatically step back into a sort of paramilitary type police and security mindset, with gun out, don't speak to people, ‘you are a suspect’…

"It's about getting that right, still having the engagement, still having the visibility and the community contact, but having the support around that and having officers raise their own level of consciousness and security awareness off-duty as well as on-duty.”

Attempted murder of senior detective John Caldwell at football training 'callous and evil'