Reports obtained from:
(1) Irish Republican News, (2) Pat Finucane Centre
Saturday-Wednesday, 20-25 October, 2006
Monday, 16 October, 2006
Saturday-Wednesday, 20-25 October, 2006
PSNI (Police) collusion suspected in Lawlor murder
By Republican Irish News
Evidence is mounting that PSNI police agents were involved in the murder of a young Catholic man shot dead by unionist paramilitaries four years ago.
The parents of 19-year-old Gerard Lawlor have asked the Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan to investigate claims that the PSNI failed to arrest their son's killers in order to protect one or more informers.
The teenager had been due to move into a new home with his partner Siobhan and their 18-month-old son Josh days after he was shot dead by UDA gunmen in July 2002.
The PSNI later admitted it had not arrested or questioned anyone for the murder, despite police knowing the identity of the killers.
A PSNI detective claimed to have "no witnesses, no information", despite three witnesses coming forward to identify those involved.
The Lawlor family had originally believed that the PSNI were doing everything possible to apprehend their son's killers.
But over the last 18 months, the Lawlor family have become increasingly concerned that there was never any serious effort to catch their son's killers.
There were also concerns that PSNI patrols mysteriously withdrew from the area prior to the attack.
John and Sharon Lawlor and Gerard's partner Siobhan Ramsbottom have asked Mrs O'Loan to investigate serious failures in the PSNI murder inquiry.
One witness used the confidential police telephone line days after the murder to identify two unionist paramilitaries as having admitted to the murder several hours after the attack.
Neither of the named suspects was arrested.
After hearing nothing in the intervening four years, the same witness has come forward again this summer, offering to testify at trial.
The PSNI has claimed that it could find no record of the original telephone call made by X identifying the killers.
The Lawlor family have now learned that the PSNI have refused to investigate the claims in the absence of fresh corroborating evidence.
Last week John Lawlor said: "We trusted the police when they told us that they were doing everything they could to catch Gerard's killers...
"But now we believe the original police investigation was nothing more than a sham and that Gerard's killers were protected."
Gerard Lawlor's mother Sharon said the family hoped the ombudsman would uncover the facts.
"All we want is the truth. We want to know why there weren't more police patrols in the area, given that there had been a series of attacks earlier in the night," she said.
"We want to know why the police do not appear to have followed up on three different people's evidence about who may have been involved in Gerard's murder.
"Why does it appear that little or nothing was done to find these people?"
A spokesman for the Police Ombudsman's office confirmed it had been asked to investigate the PSNI inquiry.
DNA date held on 1119 innocent children
By Pat Finucane Centre
The Derry based Pat Finucane Centre has called for the destruction of all DNA records held by the PSNI on children who have never been convicted or formally cautioned. The call comes following a recent case in Derry where an 11 year old girl had a DNA sample taken after she had written her name in inch high letters on Derry's Walls. Last Friday the PFC accompanied the father of the girl to a meeting with the PSNI District Commander at which the fingerprints and police photograph were destroyed and the father was given a written assurance that the DNA had been destroyed. A letter to that effect from the Forensic Science laboratory was shown.
A Freedom of Information request lodged with the PSNI by the PFC, (see below) has revealed dramatic evidence of the widespread retention of DNA by the PSNI in cases where no conviction or cautioning has followed, where the child is entirely innocent in otherwords. In total DNA is held on at least 3065 young people under the age of 18. The figure may be higher since a second database has yet to be checked. Of this number 1119 have no convictions or cautions.
A spokesperson for the PFC described the statistics as ' a serious infringement of the rights of these children. We do not question the need to retain the DNA of serious violent and/or sexual offenders but to maintain records on children who have not been convicted of any offence is bizarre. When asked for their position on this the Policing Board told the PFC that the Board has no position as yet. Why not?
We would urge all parents in a similar position who believe that the DNA of their children has been retained to assert their right to oversee the destruction of such records. We welcome the fact that records were destroyed in the case involving an 11 year old girl. Equally this case highlights the need to destroy the DNA samples held on 1119 other children. To put them on a DNA database for the rest of their lives is a disgrace and must be challenge
FOIA response from the PSNI (Police)
FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT 2000
This is to inform you that the Police Service of Northern Ireland has now completed its search for the information you requested. The decision has been taken to disclose the located information to you in full..
Specifically we are seeking a breakdown of the following figures;
Question 1. On how many under-18 year olds has DNA data been retained by the PSNI?
Answer 1. 3065 young people under the age of 18, have a status of DNA Confirmed on database.
The PSNI are in a process of transition between record management systems which hold DNA data. In addition there are a further 620 DNA records on a separate system which would have to be manually checked against the records held on the main system to ensure there is no duplication.
Question 2. How many of these under-18 year olds have not been convicted of any offence?
Answer 2. Of these 3065 young people:
1119 have no convictions or cautions
Question 3. How many of these under-18 year olds have been convicted of a serious offence?
Answer 3. The cost to comply with your above request for information would exceed the "appropriate limit" as stated in the Freedom of Information Regulations 2004, which is currently set by the Secretary of State at £450.
Serious Arrestable Offences are defined under PACE legislation however our database does not sub define this category. Therefore all 3065 convictions would have to be manually checked against the PACE Serious Arrestable definition, which would take well in excess of the time permitted to keep your request within the "appropriate limit"
Question 4. How many of these under-18 year olds have not been charged with any offence?
Answer 4. Of these 3065 young people, all but 3 have been charged or reported for prosecution.
Please note that our database effectively stores DNA details against people who are to be prosecuted. There may be instances where DNA has been taken, and passed to FSANI, but for whatever reason, there has been a decision not to prosecute. DNA details may not then have been added to our database.