Sinn Féin cannot recommend young nationalists join the new Northern Ireland police service while it uses plastic bullets, its president Mr Gerry Adams said today.
Mr Adams said his party was prepared to compromise on some policing issues, but not on the use of weapons such as plastic bullets.
"There is no possibility of any nationalist or republican joining the new police service even if in our folly Sinn Féin was to advise differently," he argued holding the older version of the plastic bullet during a press conference in West Belfast.
"This is not a new position by us. It is timely because this is the day that they bring in new plastic bullets which by their own admission are more dangerous than the older one.
"So I'm making it clear and I'm very sensitive in the language that I'm using that we will not recommend republicans to join a police service which uses these.
Police in Northern Ireland were accused today of keeping inadequate records on the firing of plastic bullets.
Important documents were missing in several files about the use of baton rounds, according to research conducted for the Human Rights Commission.
The report was published to coincide with the official introduction today of a new type of plastic bullet for riot control.
Professor Brice Dickson, the commission's chief commissioner, said: "There are serious questions over whether this new bullet is safer than its predecessor.
"Regardless of that, it is vital that where such a weapon is used, its deployment be accurately and meticulously recorded so that any questions concerning the legitimacy of its use can be meaningfully explored after the event."
Research was carried out last October on 20 files about the firing of 122 plastic bullets by RUC officers between 1997 and 2000.
The documents suggested a total of 48 people had been hit but no disciplinary or court actions ensued.
It found:
- files often took months to complete;
- files were poorly maintained;
- the principal form used by sub-divisional commanders were inadequate;
- witness statements were often presented in an overly standardised manner;
- 72 of the 189 witness statements were not properly signed by the officer making them;
- not enough detail about the level of violence at the time bullets were fired;
- in many the chain of authority was not made clear;
- several files were closed when they should not have been by any meaningful standard of accountability.
The report recommended designing new forms for police chiefs to fill in requiring more information about circumstances of plastic bullet shootings.
It also called for more detail in witness statements and for files to be completed more quickly.
PA