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'Police station car bomb takes me back to working through the Troubles'

Eimear Flanaganand
Holly Fleck,BBC News NI
BBC Tracy Godfrey is standing outside a building. The PSNI emblem is obscured from view in the background. Ms Godfrey is wearing a cheeta print scarf and a green coat. The part of the PSNI emblem that are shown are part of a star, a crown, and a shamrock.BBC
Tracy Godfrey has worked as a member of police civilian staff for 42 years

A bomb at a police station has heightened security fears for civilians who work for the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), their union representative has said.

Tracey Godfrey, who has worked for the police for 42 years, said the explosion at Dunmurry PSNI Station triggered memories of working through the Troubles.

She said it was a civilian contractor, not a police officer, who raised the alarm when the bomb was left at the station inside a hijacked car on Saturday night.

However, she said police officers, civilians and contractors would just "have to be vigilant and carry on".

"My heart just sank... especially whenever I saw the footage of the car exploding," she told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.

"It just takes me back to working through the Troubles. It does trigger those memories for you and it does make you more fearful."

In addition to her civilian staff role, Godfrey also represents the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (Nipsa) union as its departmental secretary for the PSNI.

She said the Dunmurry bomb was "an attack on the whole community".

"And please don't forget that police and police staff, our contractors, are part of that community as well," Godfrey added.

Civilian workers play 'important role'

In addition to its more than 6,300 police officers, the PSNI employs in excess of 2,000 civilian staff.

These workers carry out roles including answering 999 calls, assisting with crime prevention, communications work and photography.

"We play a very important role in policing," Godfrey said.

"We're all integral, we're one 'Team PSNI'. Everybody plays a part."

Possibility of 'being singled out'

In the aftermath of the Dunmurry bombing, the PSNI said they believed dissident republicans had carried out the attack.

In a statement to the Irish News on Tuesday, the New IRA said it was responsible for the bomb and it also threatened more attacks on the homes of PSNI employees.

"You always know in the back of your mind you have to be vigilant and that there is a possibility of you being singled out for some kind of violence," Godfrey said.

"You do push it to the back of your mind, and this has just brought it all to the fore to be quite honest."

Niall Carson/PA Wire The burnt wreckage of a white car which exploded outside Dunmurry Police Station on Saturday. The bodywork is very badly damage, with the metal twisted out of shape in many places. All of the windows have been blown out and parts of the doors are missing. The car has been loaded on the back of a low loader to be towed away.Niall Carson/PA Wire
A hijacked car exploded outside Dunmurry Police Station on Saturday night

During the Troubles, more than 300 members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), which predated the PSNI, were killed in attacks.

"I have 42 years' service, so things have changed dramatically over the years," Godfrey said.

"But attacks on the Police Service are still there - you still have to remind people to check under their cars, check your routes.

"And I suppose the new factor – well, fairly new from whenever I started work - is social media."

To cope with the ongoing threat, Godfrey said PSNI civilian staff have the same access to support services from their employer as police officers.

"We do feel well protected but it's hard to protect against an unknown entity", she admitted.

"You have to be vigilant and carry on as you always have done, trying to have a personal life as well as a professional life."

Bombing is 'stark reminder'

PA Media Naomi Long has medium length ginger hair in a side parting with blue eyes. She is mid speech and her background is yellow and blurred out. She's wearing red lipstick, a silver choker necklace and a black and white patterned top.PA Media
Naomi Long praised the reaction of the civilian contractor who raised the alarm

Northern Ireland's Justice Minister Naomi Long said she was "completely horrified" when she heard about the bomb attack.

She paid tribute to the civilian worker who was first to raise the alarm.

"I think the fact they did so effectively and efficiently is remarkable," she told the BBC's Nolan Show.

She said was clear that it was "a significant explosion and that real harm could have been caused".

Long added she was "conscious always" of the security threat in Northern Ireland, but, "by and large", the police have been able to "suppress and disrupt" such activity.

"But it is a stark reminder, when one of those attacks gets through, of how serious it is."

She told the programme there are still some people want to "take us back to the dark days of the Troubles, many of whom are barely old enough to remember what it was like to live through that time".

The minster added: "Northern Ireland remains one of the safest places in these islands to live and we shouldn't lose sight of that because of individual incidents, though we should never be complacent, given our past."