Finance Minister O’Dowd condemns ‘racist’ gangs patrolling streets

Northern Ireland’s Finance Minister has described groups of men walking around the streets of Belfast and harassing people from ethnic minority backgrounds as “pure racism”.

Videos appearing on social media show gangs patrolling parts of Belfast at night and stopping people and demanding to see “documentation”.

Sinn Fein’s John O’Dowd said the people involved in the vigilante behaviour are “imposing their will” on communities.

He said: “It’s pure racism, and the police need to be supported in dealing with it, and the police need to deal with it.

“Those people aren’t on the streets keeping anybody safe.

“They’re on the streets trying to impose their will on the communities.

“So they’re racist, they need to be dealt with through the law.”

The PSNI described the incidents as “racism pure and simple”.

Asked whether she agrees with the police view, deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said: “Let’s be very clear, there’s a very simple answer in response to that.

“Any vigilantism is wrong.

“It must be condemned.

“It has no place in Northern Ireland.”

Commissioner Designate for Victims of Crime Geraldine Hanna said she has been “sickened and deeply troubled” by the videos.

She said people are being harassed on the streets due to the colour of their skin.

“My first thoughts are with those who have been accosted simply because they are in a public space and not white,” Ms Hanna said.

“I can only imagine their terror at being confronted and demonised by these gangs.

“Gangs, with no right or legal reason, stopping people who are of a different race to them and demanding to see their papers is something from an Orwellian nightmare.

“These chilling incidents are also potentially racially motivated hate crimes, creating more victims, and I trust the police will do everything in their power to curb these groups and investigate where a hate crime may have been committed.

“There are many things that need to be done to better protect and support victims of crime, this is not one of them.

“The gangs who are carrying out this harassment have no right to claim authority over our streets.

“They create victims, breed fear, and there is no justification for them taking it upon themselves to go about harassing and intimidating people.

“We have a criminal justice system for a reason and if anyone has concerns about suspicious activity or law breaking, they should contact the police.”

In a statement, District Commander Superintendent Gavin Kirkpatrick said he is “very concerned” about the actions of these groups.

“We are aware of a number of videos circulating on social media of groups of men ‘patrolling’ east Belfast streets and confronting members of the public,” he said in a statement.

“I am very concerned about the actions of these groups. Their own videos show them stopping, searching and intimidating wholly innocent people, apparently based on nothing more than the colour of their skin.

“Such activity is not protecting this community, it is attempting to control it. It is racism, pure and simple.

“I want to encourage anyone who has been confronted by these groups to come forward and report it to police. We will robustly deal with any offences reported to us.

“We will not tolerate any type of vigilante activity and I caution anyone involved in such ‘patrolling’ to stop. It is the responsibility of the Police Service to enforce the law in Northern Ireland.

“In the coming days we will be deploying additional officers to East Belfast to provide reassurance to the public and monitor the activity of these groups.”