Police seek information on the attacker of teenage girl in Downpatrick
Detectives from the Police Service Rape Crime Unit (RCU) are investigating a sexual assault on a teenage girl in the Samson’s Lane area, off the Ardglass Road in Downpatrick shortly after 8.30am on Tuesday, 24th June.
Local District Commander Superintendent Norman Haslett said: “I want to reassure the community that a dedicated, skilled and specialist trained team of Detectives are working at pace to support the victim of this crime and to progress the investigation.
“I would appeal to anyone who may have been in the area yesterday morning, or who has any information that could help our investigation, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to please bring it to us by calling 101, quoting reference 353 24/06/25 or online at:
https://www.psni.police.uk/report .
“If you would prefer to provide your information anonymously to the Crimestoppers charity, you can do so by calling 0800 555 111 or via:
http://crimestoppers-uk.org
“I want to further reassure the community that there will be a noticeable increase in police patrols in the area in the coming days and weeks.”
Galbraith shocked at sexual attack in Downpatrick
SDLP Downpatrick councillor Conor Galbraith has said there is shock in the area after a sexual assault on a teenage girl.
Cllr Galbraith said: “The incident happened near the Ardglass Road on Tuesday morning.
“Everyone in Downpatrick has been shocked at the news of a sexual assault on a young girl early on Tuesday morning.
“Our thoughts are with the teenager and her family and I hope that she is getting the help and support that she needs at this awful time.
“This incident has caused significant concern locally and I appreciate confirmation from the police that they will be stepping up patrols of the area in the days ahead.
“I would urge anyone with any information about this incident to come forward to police and help them with their investigation.”
UUP Justice Spokesperson Says Women Are Being Failed
On a wider note on female rights and the law, women are being failed says Justice spokesperson, Doug Beattie MC MLA as he highlighted that the failure to collect data on a person’s sex sex is making ending violence against women and girls nothing but a slogan.
Dough Beattie said: “In order to identify crime trends, target resources and build on both the PSNI and Executive Office Strategy on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls, it is important to keep up-to-date data.
“Therefore, it is of genuine concern that the PSNI, and I would say other departments and agencies, do not keep data on the biological sex of those victims of sexual offences or indeed the biological sex of the perpetrator.
“The Independent Review of Data, Statistics and Research on Sex and Gender was scathing in its analysis, outlining “the meaning of sex is no longer stable in administrative or major survey data.
“This instability is evident across key policy areas, including health and justice.
“This has led to a widespread loss of data on sex. In some cases, the loss of data on sex poses risks to individuals. This is particularly apparent within health and social care. These risks are especially high in the case of minors.”
“Their recommendations were clear. The word sex, meaning male or female, should be used in the collection of all data, and the word gender should be avoided as it has multiple meanings.
“This is something I have raised with each department in Stormont, who all replied they were waiting for the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) to outline a way ahead. To that end, I wrote to NISRA, and although they have replied, they have not given any guidance yet.
“In the meantime, justice agencies and health departments, as well as other organisations, are simply not collecting data on sex correctly. This needs to change, particularly if ending violence against women and girls is going to be more than just a slogan.”
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