Latest news with #NorthernIrelandPoliceService
The Irish Sun
5 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Man, 30s, arrested after police pursuit of suspected stolen car leaves taxi & two cop cars ‘damaged' in Belfast
'Damage was, however, caused to the vehicles involved in the collision, along with two police vehicles' CAR CHASE Man, 30s, arrested after police pursuit of suspected stolen car leaves taxi & two cop cars 'damaged' in Belfast A MAN has been arrested after a police pursuit with a suspected stolen vehicle left two cop cars and a taxi damaged. Officers on patrol in West Belfast last night observed the car, which they believed had been reported stolen. 3 Two police cars were damaged in the pursuit of the suspected stolen vehicle Credit: Pacemaker Press 3 The Northern Ireland Police Service is asking anyone with information or video footage to come forward Credit: Getty Images - Getty The vehicle, a red Citroen C4, was being driven erratically and had collided with a taxi before being abandoned in the Donegal Quay area. A man, aged in his 30s, was arrested a short distance away on suspicion of several offences, including dangerous driving, theft of a vehicle and using a motor vehicle without insurance or a licence. Reporting on the incident, Chief Inspector Pete Cunningham said: "Our enquiries remain ongoing, but thankfully, there have been no reports of any serious injuries at this time. "Damage was, however, caused to the vehicles involved in the collision, along with two police vehicles." He added: "Our officers dedicate themselves to the communities they serve, often at great risk to themselves. "While any injury to our officers or members of the public is completely unacceptable, thankfully, on this occasion, we are not dealing with more serious consequences as a result of this reckless behaviour." Anyone with information or video footage is asked to contact the police. This news comes following another arrest in West Belfast yesterday, following a stop and search of a vehicle. Shortly after 8pm, officers on patrol in the Stewartstown Road area observed a vehicle being driven erratically before the driver was seen throwing an item out of the window. The driver initially failed to stop for police but later stopped around the Laurelbank area. CAR CRIMINALS Chief Inspector Pete Cunningham said: "The man, aged in his 20s, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a Class A controlled drug, possession of a Class A controlled drug with intent to supply, "Being an unaccompanied L driver, no L plates, using a motor vehicle without insurance, taking a motor vehicle without authority, dangerous driving and failing to stop for police. He remains in custody at this time."
The Guardian
07-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Northern Ireland's public services ‘at risk of collapse'
Northern Ireland's public services, including hospitals, schools and police, are being 'crippled' by lack of funding, impinging on the quality of life for many people, a report by a government committee has concluded. The Northern Ireland select committee found patients waiting more than 12 hours to be seen in accident and emergency departments and mental health needs 40% greater than anywhere else in the UK. Hospital waiting lists are among the worst in the country. Its investigation was also told that Northern Ireland 'recently held the world record for prescribing the most anti-depressants per head of population'. It also found that children with special needs were waiting more than a year for support. The budget for the Northern Ireland Police Service has been static since 2010, despite the special challenges it faces including cross-community recruitment and efforts to stamp out paramilitarism, one of the last vestiges of the Troubles. One witness, the Law Society of Northern Ireland, said public services were 'at risk of collapse'. The former MP Stephen Farry, a co-director of Ulster University's strategic policy unit, told the committee it was vital that the political classes in London understood just how bad public services were in NI compared with Great Britain. He said: 'The sheer scale of the crisis is that much greater.' The committee chair, Tonia Antoniazzi, said: 'The crisis afflicting public services in Northern Ireland has gone on for far too long with the crippling effects of underfunding impinging on the day to day lives of people across communities. The current hand to mouth approach when it comes to funding has often been too little, too late.' The committee is calling on the government to ensure funding for the next fiscal year 2026 to 2027 is 'according to NI's level of need'. Northern Ireland has the highest public spending per person in the UK, but raises the least revenue per person, the report found. It relies predominantly on what is known as a 'block grant' allocated to the devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. According to the so-called Barnett formula used to calculate funding, each nation receives the same pound for pound rise in funding per capita as the national funding. So, for example, if education in England is £100 a head, devolved governments must also get that level of finance. In recognition of the dire state of Northern Ireland's public services, the previous government raised funding to give NI's public sector £124 a head. The committee noted that research was being conducted to see if that needed to be raised again. 'During our predecessor committee's inquiry in 2023–24, it heard that the funding and delivery of public services in Northern Ireland were under enormous pressure. One year on, little appears to have changed,' it said. When power-sharing resumed in 2024 after a 24-month hiatus, the government provided a £3.3bn package, but as part of the settlement the Stormont government was encouraged to raise more revenue itself for public services. The committee's investigation found that this has proved to be 'politically difficult' with few options open to the devolved government.
Miami Herald
21-02-2025
- Miami Herald
2,000-year-old decapitated body found in Northern Ireland bog may have been sacrificed
More than a year ago, police in Northern Ireland were alerted to human bones discovered on the surface of peatland, a type of saturated wetland or bog. 'On initial examination, we couldn't be sure if the remains were ancient or the result of a more recent death,' Detective Inspector Nikki Deehan said in a January 2024 news release from the Northern Ireland Police Service. 'Therefore, we proceeded to excavate the body with full forensic considerations in a sensitive and professional manner. This approach ensures that any DNA evidence could be secured for any potential criminal investigation.' The remains were carbon-dated, and researchers found they belonged to someone from more than 2,000 years ago, according to police. Archaeologists at the time believed the body belonged to a teenage boy, between the ages of 13 and 17, but noted that the head was not found with the rest of the remains. Now, after a year of scientific study, the research team has not only realized the body belongs to a woman, but she may have been the victim of a gruesome sacrifice. 'Dating to approximately 343 to 1 BCE, the remains are over 2,000 years old and date to the prehistoric period known as the Iron Age,' researchers said in a Feb. 20 release from the National Museums of Northern Ireland. 'Osteoarchaeological analysis has now revealed the body to be female, a discovery made all the more significant as the majority of bog preserved individuals that have been found from this period are male.' Initial excavations found bones from the arms, legs, fingers and breastbone, police said. Because the body had been well preserved in the bog environment, researchers also found partial skin, fingernails from the left hand, some toenails and what appears to be a kidney. The woman stood about 5 feet, 6 inches tall, researchers said, but the remains stopped at her neck. 'While the body was well preserved, the skull was absent and not recovered,' researchers said. 'Cut marks on the neck vertebrae indicate the cause of death as an intentional decapitation in the bog.' Her death is now a 2,000-year-old murder investigation. 'This may be part of a pattern of ritual and sacrifice during the Iron Age period,' researchers said. Along with her body, archaeologists also discovered parts of a woven item that was below her knees that has yet to be identified, according to National Museums of Northern Ireland. Preserved ancient bodies found in watery environments, colloquially called 'bog bodies,' are not the same as intentionally preserved remains through mummification practices. Bogs are low-oxygen environments and prevent decay, and chemicals like tannins — used in tanning leather — preserve even the organic tissues from human remains, according to Britannica. Many famous bog bodies have violent causes of death, ranging from strangulation to slit throats, suggesting throwing a body in the bog during the Iron Age was intentional. 'Ballymacombs More Woman is certainly one of the most important archaeological discoveries on the island of Ireland. This important discovery gives us a glimpse into the lives of the people of our ancient past and offers insights into how they lived, interacted with their environment, and developed their cultures,' Niamh Baker, curator of archaeology at National Museums of Northern Ireland, said in the release. The body was found in Bellaghy, in central Northern Ireland.
