With the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement and the upcoming visit of US President Joe Biden, authorities in Northern Ireland and Ireland have increased security measures due to
the heightened risk of a terror attack. Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) has called for 330 additional officers to cover shifts next week, and the MI5 has raised the terror threat level from “substantial” to “severe.” The PSNI has confirmed that it has “very strong” intelligence that dissident republicans are planning a terror attack on Easter Monday. The dissidents plan to draw police into serious public disorder and use this as a platform to launch terrorist attacks on them. A counter-terrorism expert, Ian Acheson, stated that isolating police officers to target them for murder is a real possibility. While such an attack can be avoided, the police in Northern Ireland will have to react to changing dynamics as they happen.
Easter is a significant date for the security services in Northern Ireland, and the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement and President Biden’s visit have heightened tensions. The UK, Ireland, and the US are all preparing to put a ring of steel around events that are expected to last until next Friday. President Biden’s visit to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will begin on 11 April, but other official details have not yet been released.
In preparation for the visit, a fleet of cars that will protect Mr. Biden has arrived, including the “The Roadrunner” – a bulletproof vehicle with impenetrable tires and modifications such as a six-door and radio antenna to enable communication with US nuclear capabilities. “The Beast” is also expected to arrive, one of the world’s most recognizable vehicles, essentially a tank with a limousine interior. A source has claimed that around 250 secret service agents will join Mr. Biden for his trip, and they have been issued with firearms permits by Irish authorities. Several hundred Irish soldiers will be on standby, and the US is expected to position an aircraft carrier as close as 20 miles from the coast.
Mutual aid, where officers are sent from one police force to another, is rarely used in Northern Ireland due to historic tensions. The deployment of 330 additional police officers from forces across the UK is a significant step in security operations. In 2013, Scottish police officers were sent to help during Orange Order parades, and in 2019, forces in England and Scotland were asked to prepare around 1,000 officers to deploy to Northern Ireland in the event of unrest following a no-deal Brexit. Northern Ireland’s deputy police chief Stephen Martin said at the time mutual aid officers would not be used at the border if required amid concerns about their safety.
In conclusion, the recent increase in the terror threat level and the deployment of extra police officers from the UK are steps taken in response to the very strong intelligence of a terror attack in Northern Ireland. The 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement and the visit of President Biden have heightened tensions, leading to a significant increase in security measures to ensure the safety of everyone involved in the events. Mutual aid is rarely used in Northern Ireland due to historic tensions, making the deployment of 330 additional police officers from forces across the UK a significant step in security operations. Photo by Titanic Belfast, Wikimedia commons.