Robbery Police Defend City Centre Operations

Criticism levelled by Belfast Lord Mayor on what he claimed to be insufficient numbers of police officers 'on the ground' have been rejected by the officer in charge of city centre policing.

Jim Rodgers spoke out today on foot of a number of serious incidents in and around Belfast, including a daring armed robbery of a city jeweller on Thursday evening.

He said that - on leaving a function in central Belfast - he was pleased to see large numbers of people around, shopping and socialising - but was less impressed with what he claimed was a marked lack of visible policing.

However, PSNI Inspector Gabby Moran, speaking on BBC Radio Ulster this morning, refuted the claims and pointed to the fact that a 30-year-old man had in fact been arrested following the armed robbery at a jewellers in Belfast.

He also said that he was fully satisfied that the appropriate level of policing resources was in place in south and central Belfast.

He said that as well as patrolling; other officers were engaged in search operations, for example, which he claimed had resulted in the rapid detention of a suspect in the jewellery robbery.

Yesterday's operation followed a daylight robbery when two masked men entered Lunn's at Queen's Arcade in the city centre just before 5pm.

Reports indicated that one of the men was carrying a gun and that a male member of staff was hit over the head during the incident.

The gang made off with an undisclosed quantity of jewellery in a red car that was later discovered abandoned on Castle Street where army experts carried out a controlled explosion on the vehicle.

Meanwhile, there has also been an armed robbery outside a bank in south Belfast.

A Group4 Securicor cash-in-transit van was making a delivery to the First Trust Bank on the Ormeau Road when it was attacked just before 11.30am Thursday.

One of the security officers was confronted by a man armed with a knife, who snatched a moneybox and ran off.

The robber - who is described as 5ft 8ins tall and wearing a high visibility vest, dark woolly hat, black trousers and white trainers - is believed to have fled in the direction of Haywood Avenue in a dark grey Seat Toledo car.

Neither of the security officers who were with the van was injured.

(BMcC)