A 13-yr-old girl is among several individuals facing charges in relation to last week’s rioting in Northern Ireland, reports RTE.
She is one of four people scheduled to appear in court today, accused of taking part in rioting that occurred in Ballymena, Co Antrim, last Wednesday.
Also appearing in court is a 40-year-old man, connected to the initial outbreak of unrest in Ballymena last Monday. Additionally, a 33-year-old woman is being charged with child cruelty related to the incidents.
The PSNI stated that it continues to carry out daily arrests linked to the recent unrest, with the latest five including a man in his 20s who was arrested in relation to the arson attack on Larne Leisure Centre, which suffered major damage during the racially motivated disorder last Wednesday, reports RTE.
So far, 28 arrests have been made across Northern Ireland in connection to last week’s events. Police have said that more arrests are expected in the days and weeks ahead.
Assistant Chief Constable Melanie Jones noted that 64 officers sustained injuries during the riots, but added that the overall atmosphere has since improved, reports RTE.
“Our heightened presence in our local communities and continued community engagement to de-escalate violence continued last night… thankfully, similar to Saturday, the situation was much calmer,” she said, reports RTE.
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“I issued a public plea to parent/guardians and families of young people who have been driving the criminal activity in some areas to warn them of the serious consequences of their actions,” reports RTE.
“I am asking for continued conversations amongst local families to deter young people from criminalising themselves,” reports RTE.
Ms Jones said Chief Constable Jon Boutcher and other top PSNI officials have been engaging with affected local community representatives over the weekend.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe on our streets. So, just as we will seek justice for women and girls who report heinous crimes to us, we will also seek justice for local innocent families who are being targeted by criminality fuelled by hate,” she said, reports RTE.
“We will continue to robustly investigate the disorder over the last number of days but do not want to see any more young people criminalised by being caught up in this activity,” reports RTE.
“Thankfully, none of our officers policing this disorder reported being injured on duty last night.
“We have 64 of our colleagues currently recovering from injury and I commend their bravery and unwavering efforts,” reports RTE.
She also repeated the appeal for information concerning individuals featured in police-released images who they are seeking to interview.
“If you are able to identify any of the people shown in these images or can provide information about them you should contact us on 101 or on our major incident portal, which is accessible on our website,” she said, reports RTE. v
“I would also like to reassure the communities that we serve that we will continue to maintain our presence and protect streets. We are grateful for the support of all who condemn this criminality and would, once more, repeat our appeal for calm across Northern Ireland in the coming days,” reports RTE.
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