Mr. Alan Todd:

We are still in an unfortunate situation in Northern Ireland because there are what is described by others as the continued existence of micro-organisations that seek to use violence against police officers and the wider public.

As a police service, clearly we are concerned by anything that would become a focus which such people could use to try to harness discontent to provide some sort of quasi-legitimacy for their actions. That is a concern for policing, as the Chief Constable has stated on numerous occasions in public forums.

In terms of today's discussion and the impact on community policing, our ethos regarding policing in the community sits uncomfortably with the notion that local community teams would seek to enforce or be part of a border structure that did not have the agreement, approval or acquiescence of local communities. One must query how local policing would function in such situations and in terms of general policing alongside other agencies along whatever border there may be. That is of concern from a local policing and community legitimacy standpoint.