Naomi Long
East Belfast · Alliance Party · Northern Ireland
“Underneath the Facebook posts to say that he had passed away, people speculated with such comments as, "Probably high on drugs", "Probably drunk", and, "Typical boy racer". There was all of that speculation. It was hurtful to the family, and it was inaccurate.”
“There are circumstances that we need to consider and be careful of. I was told, for example, that, when the issue of good character references at trial was being looked at in New South Wales — Committee members may wish to look at this for themselves — one of the groups that opposed their removal was representative of domestic abuse victi…”
“It sets out the strategic direction adopted by the Department and key partners to tackle those appalling crimes and protect vulnerable victims of exploitation.”
“The provision seeks to provide protection, via legal advice and representation for complainants, against the use of non-relevant personal material and evidence of previous sexual history being used in the court process.”
“<BR /> <BR />On the wider issue of ensuring that a withdrawal of services never happens again, I think that most of us agree that, although everyone has the right to take industrial action, no one has the right to derail and hold to ransom the entire justice system in that way.”
“Those measures will go some way towards helping to support complainants and enable them to have input into the decision-making process about what records containing their personal and sensitive information are required to be shared with the defence.”
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“<BR /> <BR />I wrote to the Home Secretary and drew her attention to the programme and asked that she urgently engage with her Irish counterpart to seek their cooperation and assurance that consideration is being given to whether additional measures are needed to address the issue for the protection of us all. I await her response, but it is important that, at a local level, we continue to work closely with operational partners to keep those harmful, illicit substances off our streets through the organised crime task force (OCTF) structures and that we work through those to ensure that people, particularly those in Northern Ireland, are protected.”
“I thank the Member for the question. The BBC 'Spotlight' and 'Panorama' investigations highlighted that threat, but it also highlighted some of the successes in tackling and disrupting those routes, including work with the National Crime Agency (NCA). Border security and international relations is a reserved matter, so it falls outside my area of responsibility as Justice Minister, but I am concerned about the resource and societal implications that arise from the increasing use of Northern Ireland as a trafficking corridor that goes through these islands and onwards to Europe.”
“The majority of children who are subject to sexual abuse and misconduct are victims of people who are known to them or are members of their family or immediate circle. That is the reality. The "stranger danger" that was all the rage when I was growing up is not the reality of child sexual abuse. We need a fit-for-purpose service and protection mechanism for these times. That also relies heavily on having proper, age-appropriate education so that children understand what is appropriate and inappropriate conduct and that, should anything happen to them, they have the confidence to tell someone and know that they have not done anything wrong.”
“I have raised that issue on a number of occasions in response to Members' questions in the Chamber and when questioned publicly about it. The right to ask the question is only one element. As I said, there is also a right to tell. We have very good public protection arrangements in Northern Ireland. We should not dismiss them or the work that is done by the Probation Board, police and others on those supervision requirements. It is important that we do that in a way that focuses on the protection of the child. The best way that we can protect children is to ensure that the rights to tell and ask are well known and that people can exercise them proportionately. <BR /> <BR />As I said, child protection is also about creating an awareness in society.”
“Thirdly, and most importantly, if we provided a list of convicted paedophiles, it could create a false sense of security that there are only 200 paedophiles living in North Belfast and that we know where they are. The truth is that we do not know how many paedophiles are living in your constituency. Many will be undetected and will not have been convicted, and many are living amongst us. We best protect our society by using our right to tell and our right to ask, by treating anyone who is engaging with a child as a potential risk to that child and by taking those responsibilities seriously.”
“Powers are already available under the current disclosure regime. There is the power to ask, so if someone in the community has a concern about an individual and their interactions, they can ask the PSNI. There is also a power to tell, and the PSNI can use that when it believes that an individual's behaviour has come to its attention or when it has concerns about that person's engagements. <BR /> <BR />There are significant problems with wider disclosure. The first is that many of those whose information would be disclosed would then go to ground and their supervision under our supervision and notification rules would become more complex. The second problem is vigilantism in our communities, which we just talked about. There was quite a serious incident involving such vigilantism this summer, and we need to be very cognisant of that risk.”
“As an Executive and as politicians in the Chamber, we need to ensure that we are accurate in our information, we correct misinformation, we are temperate in the remarks that we make in the discussions that we have on those issues and that we redouble our efforts to ensure that those who wish to exploit local communities in that way are not given any airtime or opportunity to do so. It is really important that we do that collectively and consistently and not just at times of crisis.”
“It is essential. Ultimately, people would not be behaving in this way were there not those who are perpetually on social media, on mainstream media, in the press and in other places perpetuating falsehoods on immigration and false narratives about the level of immigration in Northern Ireland and the impact that it is having on our society. In turn, that is exploited by those who have serious issues with their own white supremacist, racist and other agendas. We need to be aware that that right-wing threat is serious not just here in Northern Ireland but right across the UK and beyond, and we need to treat it seriously.”
“<BR /> <BR />It is also important that I pay tribute to the Member who asked the question, because I know that he has spent quite a lot of time liaising with the PSNI locally on its response to those issues and on its information sharing with local MLAs. I thank him for his hard work on that.”
“I absolutely will, not only as Justice Minister but as a Member of the legislative Assembly for East Belfast. There is absolutely no place in our society for the hate, racism and intimidation that we have witnessed on our streets not just in recent weeks but in recent months. I urge people not to get involved in that despicable behaviour and not to allow their frustrations with services in their neighbourhood to be displaced into targeting those who are similarly disadvantaged. I urge them to instead focus on working with their elected representatives to articulate their concerns and to work productively and, crucially, lawfully to address those concerns with those of us who are serious about wanting to see those communities improved and who will not tolerate sectarianism, hatred, violence or racism on our streets.”
“We have first call on the resources for that to happen, which will, I think, have a big impact on neighbourhood policing. I am also hopeful that, in this round, when we are setting up a CSR period for three years, there will be the opportunity to secure the remaining funding that the PSNI needs so that we can grow police numbers. We cannot get through this without good neighbourhood policing and the work on the ground that allows communities to have confidence in the PSNI and allows the PSNI to respond in an appropriate manner when challenges arise. <BR /> <BR />I reiterate, however, that we cannot look only to policing when it comes to issues around hate. The crime is one thing, and, by then, people will already have been harmed, but the hate will have to be tackled by us all, not just by policing and justice.”
“The Chief Constable has made a number of asks, but the first and most important one was made during the period of riots when we needed to rely on mutual aid. We were able to get an additional £5 million for his budget to cover that. You will know that I am on record on saying that, whilst that was absolutely necessary and had to happen, it was, in many ways, another classic example of bad behaviour absorbing resources that could otherwise have been invested where they might have done some good. <BR /> <BR />The Chief Constable and I have been working together to develop a five-year plan: the first three years would be to regrow PSNI numbers to around the 7,000 that we have as a target, and the further two years would be to sustain that.”
“That requires a whole-society approach, which is why I am working with colleagues in the Executive Office, the Department for Communities, the Department of Education and the Department for the Economy to look at how we can better support those who are vulnerable, and better invest in communities to tackle the underlying issues and challenge the narratives — false narratives in many cases — that are being exploited by those who simply seek to divide.”
“I meet the Chief Constable on a regular and ongoing basis, usually at least every month and often every fortnight. We have raised the issues of hate crime, racism, anti-immigrant sentiment and violence, and wider prejudice at pretty much every one of those meetings. It is a priority for me. I am incredibly concerned about it. It is a cancer in our society. It is destroying the fabric of our society. It is doing no one, neither the people who live in those communities traditionally nor the people who come to Northern Ireland to make it their home, any favours whatsoever. <BR /> <BR />It is important that there is a proper policing and criminal justice response. However, if Members are looking to me or the Chief Constable to police out the attitudes on which those incidents flourish, I have to say that that is not possible.”
“I am already on record, however, about the real financial pressures that the justice system faces. We need to be properly funded and resourced to be able to meet what are largely unmet needs across society. We have the law in place, and we have the goodwill and practice, but we need the resource to ensure that it is sustainable and accessible for every single victim, and that we work as a society to challenge some of the cultural norms and expectations that are often a barrier, particularly to men, in reporting that kind of abuse.”
“They provide valuable insight into the experience of victims, and will help us to decide how we prioritise our resources to give the best support that we can to every victim of domestic abuse.”
“I very much welcome the opportunity to update Members on that. The first year of the domestic and sexual abuse strategy has seen a deliberate and focused exercise, of which the most recent report was one part, to build an evidence base in order to ensure that future interventions are effective, targeted and sustainable. That approach reflects our commitment to delivering meaningful change, not quick fixes, and ensures that the voices and experiences of all victims shape the way in which services are delivered and that the key gaps are identified. The coming years will be dedicated to addressing those gaps. The recent research on male victims that the Commissioner for Victims of Crime undertook, and the HERe NI report that I just referenced, will be vital drivers of that work in identifying the gaps.”
“<BR /> <BR />In re-procuring advocacy support services, we have made it a requirement that staff providing those services be trained to meet the needs of different groups of victims, including those who are LGBTQIA+, who may encounter additional barriers to accessing help or engaging with the criminal justice system. We have ensured that the support services that we fund must promote the fact that they are available to all victims and that they particularly reach out to more excluded or vulnerable groups. We have also recognised the need for an inclusive approach to be taken to awareness of social media. For example, our Still Abuse campaign included a range of scenarios and relationships, including abuse within a same-sex relationship and inter-familial abuse.”
“We have already started on the journey of ensuring that we are as inclusive as possible of victims of domestic abuse and that they are recognised and supported. We still have further to go, and the report demonstrated that. Last year, along with the Health Minister, I jointly published a new domestic and sexual abuse strategy, which explicitly recognised that anyone can experience domestic abuse and that we need to tailor our responses to the needs of victims, particularly where they have additional vulnerabilities or challenges.”
“The report also identified instances of prejudice or a lack of understanding from responding professionals, as well as the lack of tailored support to meet the specific needs of LGBTQIA+ victims, all of which the report noted can act as barriers to accessing justice and support. I have asked my officials to explore how we can address the gaps and break down the barriers that LGBTQIA+ victims face in coming forward and seeking help when subjected to domestic abuse.”
“All victims of domestic and sexual abuse face challenges that can have a significant impact on them. I recognise, however, that many victims in the LGBTQIA+ community face additional challenges around reporting, confidence and stigma. I recently opened an event to launch a report on the prevalence, nature and impact of domestic abuse as experienced by the LGBTQIA+ community in Northern Ireland. The research was carried out by HERe NI and was funded by my Department out of the victims of crime fund. <BR /> <BR />The report identified specific vulnerabilities and challenges experienced when a domestic abuse victim is a member of that community, including the fact that abusers will often use their victim's sexual orientation or gender identity to abuse them psychologically.”
“It would not be appropriate for me to join as a third party, and I know that the Member has tabled a question for written answer on the matter. It would not be an appropriate use of my Department's scarce resources for me to join as a third party in a case that is an excepted matter over which my Department has no responsibility or control. On that basis, I will therefore not be joining. The Member asked about issues to do with human rights and about other organisations that may wish to raise cause. They can, of course, apply to the court to be considered as a third party, but it would not be appropriate for the Department of Justice to do so, given its vires.”
“We need to respect the law, cooperate with the law and work via the law in order to make our opinions heard.”
“It is incredibly important that everyone have a right to their opinion, but, in a civilised society, those are qualified rights. The manner in which people express their opinion and the means by which they choose to do so are often regulated for the good order of society and to protect the rights of others with whom they share this space. It is therefore important that people be free to express and expound their views, but it is also important that they can do so safely and be properly protected. <BR /> <BR />I have no role to play in what Tommy Robinson does in London. It is well outside my jurisdiction. In this jurisdiction, however, we already have a well-established Parades Commission and well-established laws around public assembly.”
“The issue of which organisations are proscribed as terrorist organisations is for the UK Home Office. It would be inappropriate for me, as Northern Ireland Justice Minister, to opine on the responsibilities of the UK Government in excepted matters that are the responsibility of the UK Government. I sought and received a briefing from the Home Office on its evidence base and rationale for the proscription. Given that live cases are involved, it would be inappropriate for me to express an opinion either way at this time, but I encourage the Member to raise it with the Home Office, should he wish to do so.”
“No, I do not regret it; indeed, the issue was looked at and dismissed, because it is so trivial. I am disappointed that the Member, who has just taken over the chairmanship of the Committee, has chosen this issue with which to open his engagement with me as Minister. <BR /> <BR />I assure the Member that I have no intention of bringing forward anything that would diminish people's right to free speech. It is interesting that those who cry most about the curtailment of their right to free speech are the first to take offence when other people exercise theirs.”
“<BR /> <BR />My Department recognises the importance of and challenges around freedom of expression, including the need to balance the protection of human rights under articles 9 and 10 of the ECHR.”
“Being able to voice and share an opinion is vital in any democratic society, and people should be able to do that freely. I note that the UK Government have responded to the report in question, highlighting the fact that free speech is vital for democracy around the world, including here in the UK, and I echo that view. <BR /> <BR />The right to freedom of expression is protected in article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Freedom of speech is, however, a qualified right; it is not an absolute right and may therefore be subject to restrictions in certain circumstances. For example, boundaries exist when speech becomes hateful or is used to incite criminal or reckless conduct, and people behind such speech should feel the full force of the law in line with our international obligations.”
“However, there are lower levels of offending where it will be appropriate for an out-of-court disposal to be used. That is what we are trying to do. We are widening the PSNI's toolkit in terms of the resource that it has to put into investigating and prosecuting such issues, to ensure that it is proportionate to the seriousness of the crime. This gives them the discretion to do that.”
“As I explained, it is in the proposal because Mr Burrows's former colleagues in the PSNI suggested that it was one of the offences on which we should consult. Given that they were leading on that aspect of speeding up justice, I believed that it was important to consult on that. We will look at that, but there are lower levels of offending, as well as circumstances around offending that the police will consider. <BR /> <BR />If we go to out-of-court disposals, we will effectively widen the range of tools available to the PSNI in how they respond to offending. If a police officer has their nose broken, the person who did it will not simply get an out-of-court disposal; they may well face prosecution in the High Court for such an offence.”
“<BR /> <BR />The latest departmental statistics indicate that the average time taken for a case to be dealt with from the date on which the offence is reported to the police is 189 days. That is a 16% improvement over the past three years. It is a key measure of how the system is performing overall, a sign that efforts to speed up the justice system are having an impact and an indication that we need to continue down that road and keep the pressure on.”
“We are now working with justice partners on the next phase to allow cases to be transferred directly from the Magistrates' Court to the Crown Court. <BR /> <BR />Early engagement is looking at how police, the PPS and defence can work better together to expedite cases, ensuring that cases are in a good state of readiness when they come before the court. That should reduce the number of adjournments and ensure that there is no nugatory work being undertaken by prosecutors and police where there is already agreement on certain facts of the case. I am also looking at how we can better use technology to improve efficiency and support victims and witnesses through the process. We are looking at those issues seriously. Although we are currently focused on out-of-court disposals, they are only one element of the overall work that we are doing.”
“The programme is looking at the handling of cases and trying to get the most serious cases to court more quickly, because that, ultimately, is how we ensure the best protection of the public. It also allows us the best opportunity to work with offenders and deal with their behaviours. In addition, it is best for victims because they will have a much shorter wait for their case to be dealt with. <BR /> <BR />We are looking at five work streams: existing work on committal reform; existing and emerging work in the digital arena; and exploring other areas, including early engagement, court remits and, as I have said, out-of-court disposals. As you will know, the Criminal Justice (Committal Reform) Bill passed through the Assembly in October 2022.”
“As it stands, the proposal is that offences that are aggravated by hate and motivated by a hate incident or are domestic would not be dealt with through one of the notices or orders.”
“The experience is that having a quick response to low-level offending, whether that is a financial penalty or some other out-of-court disposal, means that people are less likely to reoffend and less likely to come to the attention of the police again. To be clear, however, if they reoffend within, for example, 12 months of having a penalty notice given to them, they cannot get a second penalty notice; they will then face prosecution. <BR /> <BR />You are right: we will not lose sight of justice in all of that, but we have to think about whether justice delayed serves the public. We need to ensure that there is a proportionate use of resources so that the most serious offenders are dealt with expeditiously, as well as low-level offending.”
“It certainly will not be at the expense of justice. As the Member knows, in the sentencing Bill that is due to be introduced later this year, we will increase the penalty for attacks on anyone providing a public service or engaged in public duties, including police officers. It will raise the sentence available in the Magistrates' Court and the Crown Court. This proposal is to deal with the level of offending that currently would either not be prosecuted or would not reach the threshold for prosecution in the Crown Court. We are talking about stuff at the lower end of the spectrum that might fall foul of not being prosecuted in the Magistrates' Court. <BR /> <BR />The proposal was brought forward by the PSNI because it was keen to have a quick response to low-level offending.”
“The consultation on the expansion of out-of-court disposals is due to run until 28 September. I will carefully consider responses before bringing forward any firm proposals.”
“However, for cases at the very lowest end of the offending spectrum, penalty notices offer a flexible alternative to prosecution and help to resolve cases more quickly, thus reducing pressure on police, prosecutors and the courts, which would allow more serious offending to be targeted.”
“<BR /> <BR />A working group led by the PSNI, with representatives from my Department, the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) and the NI Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS), identified a number of offences that may be suitable to be included within the penalty notice arrangements, insofar as the specific offending in each case is of a suitably low level. Those proposals are being taken forward through a departmental consultation exercise, as is normal process. <BR /> <BR />Penalty notices will not be suitable for all cases involving those offences on which the Department is consulting. Most cases, due to their nature, will continue to be prosecuted at court, and it is my intention to increase the maximum sentence available for some of the offences at the more serious end of the spectrum.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Criminal Justice Board, on which I, as Justice Minister, the Lady Chief Justice, the Chief Constable and the Director of Public Prosecutions sit, along with other senior justice leaders, agreed to consult on proposals to secure views to inform policy development. The Police Service of Northern Ireland presently has the power to issue a penalty notice for a number of public-order-related offences, such as indecent behaviour, criminal damage, disorderly behaviour, and resisting, obstructing or impeding police.”
“Proposals to extend the use of penalty notices, which were provided for in the Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, are a significant element of the out-of-court disposals work stream of the speeding up justice programme. That programme seeks to minimise avoidable delay in the criminal justice system, will be a key tool in reducing demand on the formal system from lower-level offending and will help to redirect scarce resources to more serious offences, such as serious sexual offences. That work is part of my Department's wider Programme for Government commitments to explore options for expanding out of-court disposals.”
“The issues that the Member refers to fall into the reserved space rather than the devolved space. However, I have, obviously, had contact with Ofcom, which is responsible for implementing the Online Safety Act and carrying out oversight of it. I have been engaging directly with Ofcom about our concerns, and I am briefed regularly by it on the work that it is doing to develop codes of practice and guidance for those bodies. I have also raised my concerns with the Home Office directly, because, if there is to be any further tightening of that legislation, which, I know, some of us certainly believe that there could be, particularly around anonymity, it would be for them to take it forward rather than us, because it is a reserved matter. It is something that I am engaged with regularly.”
“Thankfully, those are already covered in legislation, because they do not need to be images of real sexual abuse in order to qualify as images of sexual abuse. However, there is a need for us to refresh the law, constantly. There is also an issue of resource, because, as things become more complex, the amount of time that it takes to research and investigate those crimes becomes more complex. My recent visit to the cybercrime centre showed how there have been developments in that space that are allowing the police to speed up their investigations.”
“Under the Online Safety Act 2023, there is a requirement on hosts of sites on which images and other material have been posted to remove it quickly. It does not provide a definition of "quickly". As the Member will know, that is Westminster legislation, because it relates to communication offences, but Ofcom is working on defining what speedy removal is and how it should be undertaken. That should help with protection. <BR /> <BR />Undoubtedly, there is a genuine fear about the increase in the sophistication of the images. They are not what they used to be, with the rather sad cut-and-paste things that you could identify by eye. Most of the images are almost unidentifiable from a real image by the naked eye. There are also issues around AI-generated child pornography, for example, which have raised concerns.”
“There are a number of elements to that. First and foremost, there was a significant delay when the Assembly was not here, and that created problems. The deepfake image offence was originally to be brought forward as part of the Crime and Policing Bill that is going through Westminster — we would have simply piggybacked on those offences — but, unfortunately, it was moved as an amendment to a different Bill earlier in the mandate, and, because it was an amendment, we were unable to avail ourselves of it. That is why the Committee graciously said that we could take a further amendment through at Consideration Stage. <BR /> <BR />The law is one part of it, but the removal of the material is the other part.”
“There are a number of other things that I hope to do, but time will not allow me to do them all.”
“<BR /> <BR />I believe that those offences have added real, tangible and valuable protections against sexual abuse and violence. However, I do not believe that we can stand still on those issues, so the law is being further strengthened by a number of provisions in the UK Crime and Policing Bill, which is making its way through Westminster. The Assembly agreed the first of two intended legislative consent motions (LCMs) on that on 23 June. <BR /> <BR />I also want to look at the provision that amends the current offence of possession of a paedophile manual. That provision is in section 79 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 and extends to Northern Ireland. A new provision of the possession of, advice on or guidance about creating sexual abuse images will also plug a gap by bringing AI-generated images within the scope of the offence.”
“Members will know that I have been committed to strengthening the law where possible to try to stop those blights on our society. In the previous Assembly mandate, I introduced a new domestic abuse offence that marked a step change by capturing controlling coercive behaviour and psychological, emotional or financial abuse. I also introduced new offences of stalking, upskirting, downblousing, cyberflashing and four new offences to tackle adults who pretend to be a child with a view to sexual grooming. I also created a stand-alone offence of non-fatal strangulation to provide greater protection against behaviour that is often abused by abusers to exert control and create fear, serving as a precursor for further violence and closely linked to domestic homicide.”
“Where sexual gratification is proven, risk management measures, such as the requirement to notify police, would be applied. The proposed offences would provide further protections and add significantly to the suite of measures that are already in place to protect people from intolerable sexually motivated behaviours and to eradicate violence against women and girls. <BR /> <BR />The consultation closes on 6 October, and I encourage Members and the public to respond.”
“Subject to the outcome of the consultation, I intend to ensure that all aspects of that despicable behaviour are captured. Specifically, I am seeking views on proposals on criminalising the creation of sexually explicit deepfake images, requesting their creation and sharing and threatening to share such an image. I believe that those proposed offences would cover the full range of the abhorrent behaviours that are associated with such images. <BR /> <BR />I am also seeking views on the inclusion of specific motivations that will include situations in which a person is carrying out the behaviour to humiliate, alarm or distress the person who is depicted in the image or for the purpose of sexual gratification. That distinction is important to identify those who pose a risk of future sexual harm.”