Police station bomb 'does make you more fearful'

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.

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.

"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."

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 and 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."