Local councillor suggests birching
Thursday, 4 September 2008
Cllr Ian Stevenson.
A BALLYMONEY Councillor has suggested that the birch should be a punishment available to deter young louts who engage in the intimidation of old, ill and vulnerable people.
Ballymoney DUP Cllr Ian Stevenson said that this would be better than 'sweet talking' to them at the quarterly meeting of the local District Policing Partnership held at Riada House on Tuesday August 26.
His suggestion came after a retired resident from Armour Avenue in Ballymoney, upset at vandalism done to her house by youths hanging about Riverside Park spoke out at the meeting to demand action from local police.
The woman cancelled her holiday because of an attack on Thursday August 21 that resulted in a double glazed bay window being smashed. She spoke to a filled council chamber about the attack that occurred at around 2.20am by young people who ran back into the park. Addressing senior local police officers, she said, "We own that house, it will take over £400 to replace the window. We are retired, we didn't work to spend our money on damage done by criminals. We cancelled our holiday, our caravan is parked in storage. She went on, "Another time they stole a garden bench and we found it down in the duck pond. That bench sat without being touched for 20 years. They are criminals and they have to be caught. Do they ever catch any of these boys? It's not acceptable, we need something done and done now."
The woman said that when police arrived they only went into the park a short way and returned again. "They were probably strangers to the town and didn't understand how far it went back." She said that two of her neighbours had been victims of similar incidents the following Sunday. All three incidents were reported by The Chronicle on August 28.
Area Commander Chief Inspector David Wallace said, "We are certainly committed to get a grip with it. A more overt presence in that area is difficult. Witnesses are forever saying that there was a stone thrown at a neighbours house but it was difficult to see who threw the stone. There are no fingerprints on stones." He observed but promised to get "more visibility in the area to clamp down on these young lads." The woman admitted that it was difficult to see their faces because they were wearing hoods.
DUP Councillor Evelyne Robinson commended the woman for her "profound explanation of circumstances." She went on, "We are deeply dismayed, this is very much ongoing, not a single incident. I would like to commend her for coming to the DPP. If more people came along it would be a great improvement."
