Policing Board encouraging debate on human rights and policing
Chair of the Human Rights Committee, Basil McCrea MLA
The Policing Board will be launching its 6th Human Rights Annual Report on Wednesday 2 February 2011 through a ‘let’s talk’ styled event to encourage debate and discussion on how human rights contributes to the delivery of a good policing service.
Speaking about the forthcoming event Basil McCrea MLA, Chair of the Human Rights and Professional Standards (HRPS) Committee said:
“The main role of the Committee is to scrutinise the PSNI’s compliance with human rights legislation and this report is one way of monitoring how effective the PSNI are doing in this area. Read more
Lagan Valley Ulster Unionists hold AGM
Membership Secretary Clara Crookshanks, Treasurer John Baird, Chairman Basil McCrea, Vice-Chair Alex Redpath, Secretary Olive Mercer and Assistance Secretary Florence Chambers
This week Lagan Vally Ulster Unionists held their annual general meeting on Monday 24th of January. The evening was a triumph for local MLA Basil McCrea who was elected Chairman by acclamation. The Lagan Valley MLA recently contested the Ulster Unionist Party Leadership race and polled nearly 300 votes.
Alexander Redpath a former member of Mr McCrea’s staff and the acting Secretary of Lagan Valley UUP was elected Vice-Chairman. Mr Redpath was one of Basil’s most outspoken supporters during the party leadership election. As a former Chairman of Queen’s Students Union and the Lagan Valley Young Unionists Mr Redpath has the experience to be an effective Deputy to Cllr McCrea. Read more
Basil McCrea invites multicultural support groups from Lisburn and Belfast to tour Stormont
Umbrella's Chairman Roman Zilbar (far left) with some of Umbrella’s local members & members of Willowfield Church, Lisburn’s Community Development Officer Rhonda Frew (Middle), and Lagan Valley MLA Basil McCrea
Last week multicultural community support groups ‘Umbrella’ based in Lisburn, and members of the Willowfield Parish Church in Belfast had the pleasure of visiting the Stormont Assembly with Lagan Valley MLA Basil McCrea acting as their dedicated tour guide.
“I have always felt it to be vitally important for all people and communities to have access to Northern Ireland’s parliamentary buildings” stated Mr McCrea.
“During Lisburn’s Multicultural Christmas Event many of the attendees expressed to me that they had an interest in politics but had never had an opportunity to visit the Stormont Assembly, so I was very pleased that I was able to invite the groups to visit the building and learn some of its history.” Read more
Macmillan Cancer Support has Centenary Celebration at Stormont
Macmillan Cancer Support’s General Manager for NI, Heather Monteverde, calls for better cancer services for NI with local MLA Basil McCrea at Stormont
Last week Lagan Valley MLA Basil McCrea attended a special event at Stormont to celebrate a leading charity’s centenary. The event was organised by Macmillan Cancer Support and marked the first of the organisation’s centenary celebrations in Northern Ireland.
Basil McCrea said: “With so many people living with cancer in Northern Ireland, it is important they are given the help they need to cope with a diagnosis and its consequences.
“I congratulate Macmillan Cancer Support on its centenary year and look forward to working with the charity to ensure we deliver the best services we can for cancer patients in Northern Ireland.” Read more
UTV: Police pictures risk children’s human rights
Chairman of the Human Rights Committee Basil McCrea appeared on UTV alongside committee member Jimmy Spratt last night
This week Chair of the Human Rights Committee Basil McCrea has appeared on UTV live to discuss the committee’s report regarding the PSNI’s publication of pictures of children’s involved in last years riots.
“What we are doing are producing a report of the long term engagement between young people and police.” stated Mr. McCrea during the interview.
“If you identify a young person as being a problem, then society makes its mind up that they are a problem – so they become and are treated as a problem from then on and you can never rescue them from that.”
“We need to engage with young people, and we need to engaged with our communities. Read more
Policing Board launches Children and Young People Thematic Review at Malone College, Belfast
Human Rights Committee Chair Basil McCrea MLA and Director of Public Achievement, Paul Smyth with Malone College Students showing faircop.org on the Ipad
The Northern Ireland Policing Board has published the latest in a series of Human Rights Thematic Reviews today (Wednesday 26th January 2010). The Children and Young People Review looks specifically at how the PSNI meet their human rights obligations in some key areas relating to children and young people.
Speaking about the Review’s findings, Chair of the Board’s Human Rights and Professional Standards Committee Basil McCrea, said: “The experiences shared with the Committee show that children and young people can have very different experiences depending on where they happen to live. That is unacceptable and must be addressed. Read more
Policing Board publishes Children and Young People’s Thematic Review
Lauren Smith from Lagan College, Board Member Basil McCrea and Director of Public Achievement Paul Smyth take a look at the Fair Cop website
The Northern Ireland Policing Board will publish a report on Wednesday 26th January 2011 at Malone College, Belfast on some aspects of how the PSNI meet their human rights obligations in relation to children and young people.
Public Achievement, a youth based charity, is taking this opportunity to explore the potential of social media as a means of engaging with children and young people on the issues raised in the report.
Speaking about the launch, Chair of the Human Rights and Professional Standards Committee Basil McCrea, said: “This is the first in a series of interactive and online events that the Policing Board will be carrying out to develop engagement in respect of key policing issues. Read more
NI Policing Board welcome reduction in police incivility proposals
Basil McCrea, UUP Spokesperson on Policing
Members of the Northern Ireland Policing Board’s Human Rights and Professional Standards Committee have welcomed a reduction in complaints of police incivility.
During 2010, the Committee raised concerns with the PSNI about the consistent level of complaints of incivility over a five year period. As a result, the PSNI introduced a Complaints Reduction Strategy at the end of last year which has already shown a decrease of 19% in the number of cases recorded.
Committee Chair, Basil McCrea MLA, said: “Committee Members very much welcome the 19% reduction in incivility complaints for the period 1 April 2010 to 30 November 2010. The community have the right to a good service from the PSNI and to be treated in a professional manner in all engagements with the police Read more
McCrea calls for greater clarity from Ruane on budget
Attending the Education Committe's meeting are Basil McCrea MLA, David Hilditch MLA, Mary Bradley MLA, Prof Daniel Perkins of Penn State University, Mervyn Storey MLA, Chair of the Committee, Prof Tim Shanahan from the University of Illinois, Michelle McIlveen MLA, Julie Healy, Programme Manager of Barnardos & Margaret Kelly, Assistant Director of Policy of Barnardos.
Ulster Unionist Education spokesman Basil McCrea MLA has called on the Education Minister Caitriona Ruane to provide greater clarity on her draft budget proposals for the coming four years.
Commenting after an Education Committee meeting with Minister Caitriona Ruane today, Mr McCrea said:
“At our meeting with the Minister today I specifically asked the Minister for greater clarity on those aspects of her budget regarding envisaged redundancies. I was disappointed when the Minister was not able to provide this clarification to us. Read more
McCrea nominated for political award
Nominee for Constructive Opposition Award, Basil McCrea
Basil McCrea has recently been nominated for a Slugger O’Toole Political Award. The Lagan Valley MLA has become one of the nominees in the ‘Constructive Opposition’ category of the annual awards for “constructive opposition within his own party”.
Three nominees have been selected for each of the nine categories at an event attended by over 100 people on the 13th of January. Readers and contributors to the popular Slugger O’Toole blog have made the selections of nominees this year, based on what kind of behaviour in politics, the media and society should be rewarded. Read more
