Irish Independent Sunday February 29th 2004  IRA 'police' exposed by failed Tohill abduction  JIM CUSACK  THE IRA leadership, in an effort to keep its military organisation in shape,  decided some years ago to engage its new members - recruited and trained  since the 1997 ceasefire - by involving them in what they term community  policing. The units, which now make up the bulk of the IRA, are officially  known within the republican movement as the "Civilian Administration  Department" but are most commonly known in west Belfast and other  nationalist areas of the North as the Provo Police.  It was a unit of this department that was responsible for the attempted  abduction of Bobby Tohill in central Belfast last weekend. The IRA's  intention was to torture and murder Tohill who had been accused of  threatening members of the IRA on the Falls Road with a gun.  The four men were not, as reported, wearing boiler suits. These were  disposable suits put on the men by the PSNI's forensic evidence team after  their arrests. The suits are designed to prevent the loss of DNA or other  evidence on people's clothes.  The PSNI was well tipped off in advance of the abduction by an informant or  informants working within the IRA. The van taking Tohill away from the city  centre pub was rammed by a police vehicle driven by specially trained  officers.  The incident has drawn attention to the IRA's Civilian Administration  Department a group which, although widely known of in west Belfast and  elsewhere, is largely ignored by both governments and most sections of the  media. This apparent toleration of its activities has led many people in  nationalist areas to speculate that there is an unofficial policy of turning  a blind eye to its activities.  The Civilian Administration Department has very open manifestations in  Belfast and other nationalist areas. It is run from offices, some of which  are publicly funded and some known locally as Sinn Fein offices. People with  all kinds of complaints go to the offices and the IRA unit is dispatched to  take action. According to people in west Belfast the Civilian Administration  members have become involved in settling family disputes, warn noisy  neighbours and have even intervened in disputes between householders and  builders where complaints have been made about shoddy workmanship.  The Civilian Administration does not, however, ever take action against  other IRA or Sinn Fein figures in the unlikely event of anyone making a  complaint against them. This has led to a situation in parts of west Belfast  where people with republican connections are allowed to deal in drugs while  others are being systematically beaten or shot.  The beatings of teenagers are the most visible aspect of the IRA's work and  the sight of young men in wheelchairs or walking with the aid of crutches is  commonplace. These beatings and shootings cause permanent debilitating pain  and a large number of young people subjected to this form of violence are  taking their own lives. The issue of extraordinary high levels of young men  and women in Catholic areas was highlighted recently in the Ardoyne area  where the local IRA unit was stood down two years ago. The IRA then  sub-contracted the "policing" role to the local group of Irish National  Liberation Army (INLA) people who have carried out horrific beatings on  youths. Seventeen young men have committed suicide in Ardoyne since the  start of the year rather than continue to be subjected to this form of  violence. The rate of teenage suicide in west Belfast and Ardoyne is higher  than in other parts of this island and is way above rates in all other  European countries.  According to people in west Belfast, it is unlikely that the IRA will reduce  its "policing" activities despite the embarrassment caused for Sinn Fein by  the arrests of the four men last weekend. The IRA and Sinn Fein are against  allowing members of the PSNI to police Catholic areas and the "Civilian  Administration Department" is its way of providing what it regards as a  policing function.  Republicans sometimes refer to the functions of this Department as a form of  "community justice". In some cases there are even perfunctory judicial-type  hearings where people make complaints about other individuals and these  people, in turn, are called to explain themselves. The man - or in a number  of cases women - in charge of this process then give judgement. In many  cases a teenager accused of anti-social activity is brought by force to one  of the offices used for this purpose and sentence is passed. They are then  led away, usually to waste ground or some semi-public place and beaten or  shot. The visibility factor of these punishments is an important element of  the process as it is supposed to act as a deterrent to others.  The IRA units involved are, in effect, the last significant element of the  private army not involved in smuggling, extortion, racketeering and other  criminal "fund raising". The policing units are said to be particularly  loyal to the IRA leadership and are, effectively, its protection against the  many enemies they have made in their own communities. Families of young men  who have been crippled or who have killed themselves are regularly  threatened in case they consider attacking the IRA people who ordered or  carried out the attacks on their sons or daughters.  The only occasions in recent years where the IRA has taken action against  its own members is where there has been a groundswell of public opinion  against certain members, particularly if there has been sexual assault or  rape.  Four IRA men in Belfast have been moved out of their homes, one now living  in Dundalk and another in Co Donegal, after having been accused of rape and  sexual abuse of young girls. One IRA man was forced to leave the North and  is believed to be living in the Republic after raping the young daughter of  a woman connected to a very senior IRA figure.  The Provo Police also do not interfere in cases where publicans or  businesses are facing extortion by other elements of the IRA, even where  there is a suspicion that the IRA members involved are doing this for self  enrichment. In west Belfast, it is almost impossible to get people who are  paying the IRA to speak out for fear of being attacked. However, privately  local people comment on the fact that many IRA figures, including some who  were only released under the Good Friday Agreement, have lifestyles that are  not commensurate with their official wages from Sinn Fein or from the social  welfare benefits they are receiving. Some have also acquired pubs or  businesses since coming out of prison. It is understood that many of these  businesses have been bought as investments by the IRA and are run as fund  raising or money laundering operations. Where the businesses are successful,  it is known that a blind eye is turned to the IRA figures becoming rich - so  long as an acceptable percentage is still paid into central coffers.  The IRA also now has financial advice from quite senior sources as it is  presently trying to salt most of its cash into property transactions and  other "front" business operations. In recent years, IRA figures have been  buying up houses, including expensive holiday homes. In some instances these  are believed to be for personal use but in some cases it is also believed  that the IRA figures involved are effectively only having a loan of the  properties which are being bought by the organisation with a view to future  sale and capital gain.  The gardai are not thought to be investigating any of these activities and  there is little sign of the PSNI doing so either. The money raised by the  IRA has made it and Sinn Fein wealthier than ever before in their history  and Sinn Fein is now regarded as the best financed, equipped and organised  political organisation in Ireland.