INCREASED police resources are to be deployed at the Falls Park and City Cemetery from as early as 3pm this weekend following pre-arranged fights in the area.
And the PSNI were “stretched “ on Saturday night as they tried to control hundreds of young people who had gathered in the Ballymurphy area – notably the Whiterock children’s playpark and the Bullring. It is understood the gatherings were fights were organised via social media sites Facebook and WhatsApp.
Local Sinn Féin Councillor Steven Corr told the Andersonstown News that a knife was retrieved from the Whiterock area on Friday – he believes it had been hidden there for use at one of the gatherings in the area at some point over the weekend
“Our understanding is that drinking among young people is now starting early – you are talking from around 3pm. Their Saturday nights are now starting on Saturday afternoons. We have and will continue to make a clear message, a constant appeal, to parents to be aware of where their children are – the long-term solution for this is with them.
“We understand that young people need to be young people but a cemetery, a public park or a residential area is no place for them to be meeting in such large numbers.”
Cllr Corr said local reps will be keeping an eye out around the Ballymurphy and Whiterock areas on Saturday and that police will be in areas that have been affected from early Saturday afternoon.
“Plans are in place to showcase the Falls Park in the coming months, to utilise the pitch, the event space, but this is nothelping our case in getting this off the ground. Our main concern is that someone is going to be seriously hurt or end up with a criminal record.”
Chief Inspector Gary Reid said: “I would also echo the appeal issued by my colleagues in North Belfast over the weekend,” he said. “Parents who drop their children off at local parks in the evenings really need to reconsider their thought process. Dropping young people off to meet others in public parks as it begins to get dark is a recipe for disaster.
“This only refers to a minority of parents and young people and I would like to put on record our thanks to the responsible parents, young people and the community workers across the city.
“I want to assure the community that we are liaising with local schools, community representatives, elected members, retailers and our Police and Community Safety Partnership to work collectively to prevent anti-social behaviour and to detect those involved. We will be conducting regular and targeted patrolling of the areas and young people are warned that we will be adopting a robust approach in detecting those involved.”
