Piece By Peace

Niamh

Growing up in the midst of a post-peace process society hadn't been easy, made more difficult by the lingering sense of fear in communities that were still struggling to get out of the their side, our side mindset. Niamh didn't blame them, not really, a lot of these people had lost family members to the troubles, and almost everyone knew someone on their side that had been killed by someone on the other side. She did want better though; better for her children, even though she didn't have any yet, better for her friends, better for her family, and better for anyone else that wanted better too.

That's why she joined the PSNI.

Truth be told, Niamh had been more than a little naive when she had done so.

"It's corrupt!" Her mother would tell her.

Niamh would wave this off as nothing short of living in the past, but she hadn't even finished her probation when she realised it was the truth. From passing a shooting test, to doing the bleep test, every part of her entry had been determined by people from different backgrounds - and it showed. She had failed the bleep test twice until she asked for a different examiner, and managed to pass it on her third attempt - finally not being told she was too out of breath to continue.

Nonetheless, Niamh continued through her probationary period, making friends along the way. She offered a helping hand to people that were committing criminal offences for reasons that struck parts of her heart; like the mother who was stealing baby food for her children after losing her job. She policed huge events, like the Belfast marathon that allowed her to see the generosity of society, and how far people were willing to go for causes that bettered the lives of the people around them.

Contrary to the positives though, Niamh had dealt with some really shitty moments; like when a man she was trying to arrest had bitten her hand so violently that she needed stitches, or the woman that wet herself in the back of the police car in protest to being arrested for the third time in one week.

And then there was the absolute worst part of the job. It was a part that the entire force hated the most, the part that had officers nervously biting their nails as they made that journey to that family. Niamh would be gentle from the outset; ensuring the car door didn't slam, placing three gentle knocks on the front door, and speaking at a low volume as she asked if herself and her colleague could come in. They had been trained on what to say - how to say it. All that training usually flew out the window though; before they could speak, a distraught family member would usually have already asked the question. There really was nothing like telling someone that one of their own was no longer alive. Those violent sobs, and disturbing pleas for the information to be wrong, were made worse by the fact that some of these people would never find out why, how or even when.

It was that very fact that had set Niamh on a journey to the position she held now. She vowed that every time she put on that uniform, she would give everything she had to prevent crime, to catch those who had already committed it, and to bring justice to the streets of an island separated by religion.

So Niamh did just that.

Her dedication didn't go unnoticed, her observation and awareness were two things that helped to bring down a group of drug dealers that had sold untested substances to a crowd of 14 year olds, one of them dying just a short time after they had swallowed that first pill; too young to know better, and too old to have their every move watched by their devastated parents.

Her fitness and stamina were two other traits that had helped her to be in the running for promotion. Just two years into her career, Niamh had managed to sprint almost two miles at high speed, climbing over fences and jumping high gates, capturing a man who tried to flea the scene of an accident that left a father paralysed from the waist down.