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.”
The complete record
Every one of 7,548 lines we hold for Naomi Long, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 41 of 151.
“However, I will continue to seek the support my ministerial colleagues to repeal the defence of reasonable chastisement in Northern Ireland and move towards a position of equal protection.”
“The report found that the use of physical punishment has a negative impact on children’s physical and mental health, as well as their social, emotional and behavioural outcomes. It also raised concerns that identifying abuse became a more subjective process for professionals, allowing abusers to hid behind the defence. That is why I fully support changing the law in Northern Ireland. However, the issues are broader than criminal justice alone, and any change to the law would require Executive agreement. Despite my best efforts and support from expert stakeholders, including Northern Ireland's Children's Commissioner, I have not been able to secure the Executive agreement needed to deliver a change in the law in that area in the Justice Bill.”
“The current law in Northern Ireland on the physical punishment of children is based on the concept of reasonable chastisement. Article 2 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 has the effect of restricting the grounds on which the defence of reasonable chastisement can be used. In essence, that means that, if a parent or adult smacks a child and is prosecuted, they can defend themselves on the basis of reasonable chastisement but only if the harm is minor. Anything that causes more than transitory or minor discomfort is unlawful and can result in prosecution. Consequently, a mild smack is still legal in Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />I met the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, which published a report in 2024 on the impact of physical punishment on children and young people.”
“That is where I believe that age-appropriate, non-judgemental relationships and sexuality education is hugely important, because those are exactly the conversations that we need to start having with our young people. We need to tell them what is and is not appropriate. We need to give them the agency to say if they are uncomfortable with touch or how somebody behaves towards them and the opportunity, in lessons of that nature, to disclose if they have been so unfortunate as to have been abused.”
“I totally agree with the Member. We were all raised on a diet of stranger danger, where we were told that the people whom we had to be afraid of lurked in parks wearing macs. The truth is that they did not do that; they lived among us. If you look at the history of sexual abuse, you see that they were people in the clergy and those who had access to children through organisations that were respected. They were family, trusted individuals and friends. We also need to be careful about getting that balance right, because the majority of young people who are abused are abused by somebody known to the family. That is the reality of the situation. Whilst we should never diminish the stranger danger part, it is not the main threat. <BR /> <BR />It is important that we do it through education.”
“We have a series of measures, whether those are licence conditions, notification requirements, the monitoring of people on the sex offenders register or PPANI arrangements. A number of agencies and organisations work hard to ensure that sex offenders who return to the community are properly monitored and that their behaviours are closely watched. <BR /> <BR />This is the key for anyone who wants to protect their children: you cannot simply rely on the fact that somebody has previously offended or is a known offender as an indicator. There are many people who have been offenders for many years who live among us and are trustworthy to all intents and purposes, yet the fact that they are sex offenders can emerge much later. The key for parents is to be guarded around all adults.”
“We will keep a watching brief, see what happens in England and Wales in the building of the evidence base and review that. <BR /> <BR />I will say that the monitoring of sexual offenders, while complex, is robust.”
“There is no provision in Northern Ireland law for the chemical castration — I presume that that is what the Member means — of sex offenders. The Member is obviously aware that the issue was raised as part of the sentencing review that was undertaken in GB for England and Wales. The review asked the Government to look in more detail at the evidence base. There are competing arguments in favour and against, not just in the human rights space — this refers only to voluntary chemical castration; there is no prospect of involuntary chemical castration — as significant concerns have been expressed that reliance on chemical castration can lead to situations in which the supervision of an individual is reduced and the harm is not adequately addressed.”
“We are also looking at a public protection arrangements and multi-agency risk assessment conference (MARAC) review. Good work is being done, but we always keep a watching brief on what is a serious issue.”
“That Bill also provides for notification requirements for sex offenders who wish to change their name and get a replacement identity in a new name. It brings the "paedophile manual" provisions into line with modern technology and deals with AI-generated images. <BR /> <BR />At Consideration Stage of the current Justice Bill, I hope to table amendments that we are due to consult on shortly on deepfake image offences. Unfortunately, the opportunity to do that via a Westminster Bill changed because the Government removed those clauses from the Crime and Policing Bill on foot of a private Member's Bill being introduced, so we will do that with the consent of the Committee through the Consideration Stage of the Bill. <BR /> <BR />Significant work is happening.”
“We are trying to progress a number of work streams that will address sexual offending and the harm that it causes. I have already strengthened the law in that area through the Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Act 2022, which includes among others new offences of upskirting, downblousing, cyberflashing and pretending to be a child for the purposes of child grooming. <BR /> <BR />I propose to strengthen the law further with the extension of a number of the provisions of the UK Crime and Policing Bill — as the Member will be aware, the first of two legislative consent motions (LCMs) was agreed by the House yesterday — including strengthening and streamlining the sex offender notification requirements, because it is important that the authorities know where a sex offender is.”
“<BR /> <BR />From my perspective, the important thing is this: if anyone is concerned about an individual who behaves at all inappropriately or suspiciously around children, they should report that to the police and seek the disclosure of any history that that individual might have.”
“I am not suggesting that: I am suggesting that, where there is a risk and the police deem it proportionate, they will notify local families of an issue. Child safeguarding is the priority, so the police and other agencies can proactively disclose information about offenders, but that has to be proportionate, and it is critical that the criminal justice agencies operate lawfully. Case law has determined that disclosure must be proportionate to the risk posed, necessary for public protection and in accordance with the law, so automatic disclosure in all cases is unlikely to be lawful. That is in line with the approach in other parts of the UK and in the Republic of Ireland. Automatic disclosure could lead to members of the public being wrongly identified as sex offenders, because there are rules on the information that can be disclosed.”
“<BR /> <BR />Those mechanisms are in line with the disclosure requirements set out in article 50 of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 and with the statutory guidance that my Department has issued to agencies that are involved in the public protection arrangements in Northern Ireland (PPANI). I consider the arrangements to be consistent with child safeguarding requirements. I encourage anyone who is concerned that an individual poses a risk of harm to children to contact the police, in the first instance, to seek disclosure.”
“Existing arrangements are in place under the PSNI child protection disclosure scheme, allowing information to be disclosed to members of the public in cases where doing so is necessary to protect a child or children from serious harm. Such information may be requested by any member of the public and will be disclosed by the police, where it appropriate to do so. Police or other agencies may also proactively disclose information on serious offenders in cases where doing so is necessary in order to protect victims, potential victims or other persons in the community.”
“<BR /> <BR />I welcome the fact that the Communities Minister's intention is to give priority to domestic violence and abuse victims, because, often, the biggest fear that people have as they leave their home is where they can go. The tendency is for people to see it simply as a house, but it is not; it is a home that someone has invested in for many years. My preference is for the perpetrators to be removed, not the victims.”
“That is one of the issues that I raised as a member of the Executive in response to the paper that came to the Executive about the review of the housing priority scheme. In a society that is changing and developing rapidly, it is really important that we look at equity in how victims of domestic and sexual violence and abuse are treated on the housing waiting list. Some schemes are already available. For example, there are schemes that provide more security for a family that has been targeted in their home by domestic violence and abuse so that they are able to ask the partner to leave as opposed to the family having to leave, which so often is what happens. Making people more aware of those schemes is something that we could do jointly.”
“There are a couple of things. First, I am aware that a number of people who have approached their solicitor about the waiver for legal aid in domestic violence cases have been advised that it was not available or sent down a different track. We engaged with the Law Society, asking it to provide its practitioners with more information on that, so that they are fully aware that the waiver is an option. The second issue is the feedback that we received from the legal profession itself, which shows that obtaining the waiver can be quite a tricky and engaged process. We are, therefore, looking at how to simplify the process to make it more accessible for practitioners and, ultimately, their clients.”
“<BR /> <BR />As part of the new domestic and sexual abuse strategy, my Department will undertake work to look at costed options to enhance measures to address abusive behaviours. We also work hard to tackle the toxic masculinity and misogynistic ideologies that are so closely linked to domestic violence. Tackling those issues cannot be achieved by DOJ alone. As the departmental lead on ending violence against women and girls, TEO has an important role to play, as do the UK Government, who hold the reserved power to regulate for online environments, where such ideologies are often spread.”
“The Department provides funding for the Probation Board for Northern Ireland's promoting positive relationships programme, which is aimed at adult males who have demonstrated the potential to be abusive in intimate partner relationships and at cases in which children are assessed by social services as being at risk. A key feature of that programme is the inclusion of a dedicated partner support worker who provides support to the participant's current partner. That programme is delivered in all five trust areas. In addition, we recently approved a significant increase in investment in the programme, which will allow the number of programmes that are delivered annually to rise from 60 to 90. That will help with intervention and support.”
“I would like to, but, unfortunately, non-molestation orders fall under the Department of Finance's remit. However, we have raised the level of protection that the non-molestation orders offer to people who have an order that has been breached. The breach of a non-molestation order is a criminal offence. Therefore, a person can be taken to court for that. How it is progressed is an operational matter for court officials, the judiciary and the police. However, I want to make sure that the proper protections are in place to ensure that people have the wrap-around services that they need. We have specifically raised non-molestation orders with the Department of Finance to see whether the system requires any reform.”
“<BR /> <BR />It is important to acknowledge, however, that domestic and sexual abuse is not just a Justice or a Health issue and that other Departments have also made a range of support available. As implementation of the strategy progresses, further action plans will be developed, building on earlier actions where necessary and developing new actions as appropriate.”
“There is a domestic violence and abuse disclosure scheme that is aimed at protecting victims and future victims of domestic abuse, and that includes the right to ask and the power to tell. There is the ASSIST NI advocacy service for high-risk victims of domestic abuse and victims of serious sexual offences who are engaged with the justice system, and a bespoke children and young people's service?under the same auspices is due to commence on 1 July.? There is a 24-hour domestic abuse helpline in Northern Ireland that is provided by Nexus and funded jointly by DOJ, DFC and DOH. Advocacy support services are delivered to families after the domestic homicide of a family member or friend.”
“Significant support and provision have already been made available under the seven-year domestic and sexual abuse strategy for 2024 to 2031, which my Department leads in partnership with the Department of Health. The support and provision pillar of the strategy is intended to ensure that all victims of domestic and/or sexual abuse can access tailored, responsive and specialised support and provision to allow them to recover and rebuild their life. <BR /> <BR />Support that is in place under the strategy includes the sexual offences legal adviser (SOLA) pathway project, which provides victims of serious sexual offences with a wide range of legal advice and information up to the point of a trial. I have extended that project from February to include a children's SOLA service.”
“First, I condemn the attack on the Islamic Centre in Belfast at the weekend. It has caused distress and alarm not only among those who were at prayer when it happened but among those who regularly use the centre and other members of the community. We in DOJ are committed to playing our part in trying to deliver a safer community for all, including the victims of race hate crimes and Islamophobia, in partnership with other government bodies and beyond. I have been reassured by the Chief Constable that he intends to take swift and robust action when following up on those offences. I have also been reassured by the PPS and the courts that they have the capacity to deal with that. I have said publicly that if more resources are required to expedite that action, we are open to listening to those calls for additional support.”
“The HELPinHAND app provides multilingual avatars to help to support the victims of hate crimes in their own language and provides an understanding of how the criminal justice system works. <BR /> <BR />We also support the work of policing and community safety partnerships, which includes raising awareness and education initiatives to reduce hate crime in local communities. We will introduce provisions as part of the sentencing Bill that will modernise race hate crime law in Northern Ireland. That will provide a more robust system for sanctioning offenders and will improve support for victims of hate crimes.”
“First, providing guidance and practical assistance in the aftermath of hate crimes offers vital support at a critical time. Enhanced protections for victims are available through a range of mechanisms. Direct support is provided through the Hate Crime Advocacy Service, which is jointly funded by DOJ and the PSNI. That service supports victims as they journey through the criminal justice process, signposts them to support services and can assist with third-party reporting to the PSNI. <BR /> <BR />DOJ, PSNI, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) and the Department for Communities jointly fund the hate incident practical action scheme (HIPA), which provides personal and home protection measures if someone's home has been damaged or they have been the victim of hate crime at their home.”
“There is, of course, a salty retort that I could make about those who seek offence, but I will set that aside and be more ministerial in my approach to the Member's question. As the Speaker has acknowledged, I am not here to answer questions on behalf of the Alliance Party. The Member knows that. However, what I can say, as a person of faith, is that there is nothing in my faith or any other faith that justifies the use of hateful language, expression or behaviour. Those who believe that their faith justifies such expression or behaviour need to reconnect with it.”
“I agree that it is vital that hate expressions be removed from public display. Their remaining in place normalises and makes acceptable the expression of sentiments and violent thoughts that are not acceptable in a civilised society. We need to acknowledge that. The issue is how we take that forward. The Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition (FICT) report, for example, looked at the display of emblems and symbols in public spaces. Collectively, as five parties, we were unable to get agreement on how that would be taken forward. I want to look specifically at the recommendations by Judge Marrinan. However, given that they would create duties on local authorities that fall outside the purview of the Department of Justice, I need the cooperation of other Departments to bring them into effect.”
“Policy development work on the removal of hate expressions is ongoing, which includes liaising with the named authorities in the recommendation and the PSNI. As that work is complex and ongoing, I do not intend to include recommendation 15 provisions in the Justice Bill that is under consideration by the Committee.”
“In recent days, we have seen how the use of threatening and abusive words and materials targeted at the most vulnerable in society can spread fear and division in communities and incite hatred. I continue to prioritise actions to deliver support for victims of hate crime, including those who are the target of hate expressions. The delivery of foundational hate crime legislation provisions in this mandate remains a key priority for DOJ. Those provisions, delivered through a sentencing Bill and a victims and witnesses of crime Bill, will modernise hate crime law in Northern Ireland and provide a more robust system to sanction offenders. <BR /> <BR />In his review of hate crime legislation in Northern Ireland, Judge Marrinan recommended:”
“Sentencing process and guidance — how it operates, who is responsible for it: the entire structure — is misunderstood by people in the House and by the general public. One of the reasons why we want to provide that clarity in the sentencing Bill that will come forward this year is to aid understanding of how sentencing works.”
“I have two quick things. First, if the process is followed, it could be within the discretion of the judge; that is the point that I was making. Secondly, I hope that the Member is going to clarify that he does not agree that vigilantism is ever acceptable.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I appreciate it. The issue is that, when it is taken to the Court of Appeal, three appellate court judges will sit and consider whether the sentence was appropriately given. A degree of judicial discretion applies in all such cases. To suggest that it should be automatically overturned simply because it was appealed suggests that the judgement in every case of an unduly lenient sentence would pass to the PPS.”
“Let us work together constructively and find the solutions that will build that confidence for us all.”
“I cannot, unfortunately. I am about to finish. <BR /> <BR />— so that we know that people will not go on to reoffend and create further trauma in the community and that victims will be recognised. That is one of the reasons why the work that the Commissioner Designate for Victims of Crime has done, for example, has been incredibly important in placing them at the heart of the system. <BR /> <BR />In closing, I reinforce my commitment to improve sentencing policy in Northern Ireland. It is vital but complex, and it needs sensitive handling. I want to work collaboratively with key stakeholders, including Members. However, if we want to increase confidence in the justice system, talking it down in the media and the House on a daily basis is not the way in which to do it.”
“Rehabilitation is about how we place victims at the heart of the justice system by ensuring that we do not see people reoffend and create more victims and that perpetrators are brought to be challenged and confronted about the impact of their crimes —”
“I recognise how helpful it can be for victims to be able to read what was said at sentencing hearings in slower time in order to aid their understanding and support their recovery from the impact of the crime. The Department has been working in conjunction with key stakeholders to look at options for providing victims with access to transcripts, taking account of the findings from a recent pilot exercise that was undertaken in other jurisdictions. That will fall within the scope of the draft victims and witnesses of crime strategy, which is out for public consultation at the moment. <BR /> <BR />Let me be clear: rehabilitation is not the enemy of victims being at the heart of the justice system.”
“However, reducing offending and reoffending and supporting rehabilitation are not solely the responsibility of the Department of Justice. In practice, that relies on cross-Executive and multi-agency collaboration. That is one of the pieces of work that we are doing, as set out in the Programme for Government commitment, on working collectively to develop a cross-departmental strategy to reduce offending and reoffending. My officials have started engagement across government to progress that. I am really pleased, actually, at the level of interest and commitment that there has been to date from other Departments. <BR /> <BR />I have had the privilege in my role of meeting many victims and survivors who have shared their lived experience of the justice system.”
“That is why the Department has supported the roll-out of enhanced combination orders, which is a community based alternative to short prison sentences. This year, having been provided with some additional funding from the Department, the Probation Service is preparing to expand the availability of that to a further court area in 2025-26. <BR /> <BR />We also know that other approaches can address reoffending. Early intervention projects have the ability to break the cycle of reoffending. Intervening upstream prevents future offending and reduces the number of victims. That includes addressing the intergenerational cycle of offending, where a grandparent, parent and child in a family have all had interaction with the justice system.”
“The degree to which those people are considering what sentence they might get if they are caught is rather limited, so we should not place an over-reliance on the deterrent effect of sentencing when it comes to individuals of that nature. <BR /> <BR />From our perspective, it is about trying to address the vulnerabilities to reduce the offending behaviours. Reoffending information shows that the rate of reoffending for adult offenders who were sentenced to a community order was nearly half that of adult offenders who were subject to a custodial sentence of fewer than 12 months. You cannot argue with those facts. If we are getting better results in the community and we are truly victim-focused, that is where we should be doing the work because that is how we will prevent more victims being created.”
“<BR /> <BR />Although custodial sentences are often perceived to be a strong deterrent against offending and reoffending, evidence shows that reoffending can be reduced through rigorous sentences that are served in the community and that, with the right investment, community sentences can succeed where short prison sentences fail. There has been a lot of discussion about the impact of deterrents. However, many of the offences that are committed in Northern Ireland are impulsive acts and are the result of choices that have been made by often volatile and vulnerable individuals who are living complex and chaotic lives.”
“We do not have a responsibility to people once they have gone through the prison door and we cannot intervene beyond the prison gate. At that point, responsibility passes to other members of the Executive regarding housing, communities and other things. Our responsibility is to draw those organisations through the gate and into the prison to provide that support. It is also worth noting that the LCJ has moved remand hearings to earlier in the week so that they do not happen on a Friday, because they often lead to people being released from prison without adequate support being in place, at short notice and without due warning.”
“<BR /> <BR />A wide range of educational, vocational and employability skills are under continuous review, and the Prison Service has introduced additional services from statutory partners in prisons to enhance the support that is available for prisoners in the weeks leading up to their release. Those services include access to Housing Executive advisers to assist with accommodation planning and engagement with DFC work coaches to support employability and benefit readiness. Evidence shows that individuals are less likely to reoffend, as the Chair of the Justice Committee said, if they can access appropriate practical support and develop social bonds as they return to the community. Preparation for release is complex.”
“Those programmes are kept under constant review to ensure that they align with the needs and priorities of the prison population. <BR /> <BR />When I talk about complex needs, it is also worth referring to what Mr Durkan said about the number of women who are remanded in custody or face custodial sentences. Often, prison is seen as being the provider of last resort. If people have issues with addiction or mental health, a judge will often remand them in custody to put them into a place of safety. One of the difficulties is that so many of our women feel that Hydebank Wood is the safest place for them to be. It is a real challenge if they do not feel safe at home or in the community but do feel safe and protected when they are with us in prison, because that is not where we should be dealing with those issues.”
“Despite the Northern Ireland Prison Service facing acute challenges against the backdrop of a significant rise in the prison population, many members of which have increasingly complex needs, it continues to seek to prioritise rehabilitation and support and to challenge prisoners to change and address their offending behaviour to reduce their risk of reoffending on release. The Prison Service works with partners in the statutory, voluntary and community, pastoral and education sectors to deliver a range of programmes and interventions to encourage desistance from reoffending on release. They range from support for dealing with addictions, mental health challenges and past trauma to programmes that support parenting skills and change attitudes that lead to violence against women and girls.”
“Sentencing in any cases that are heard at the Crown Court will be included. <BR /> <BR />It is also important to highlight that decisions on where an offence is tried are made independently and on a case-by-case basis and take into account a variety of factors, including whether the court has sufficient sentencing powers to reflect the seriousness of the offence. Often, the sentences that people are concerned about are those that are handed down by the Magistrates' Court, but it should be noted that the maximum sentence for most cases in the Magistrates' Court is two years. Therefore, the decision to prosecute in the Magistrates' Court automatically limits what is available to the judiciary in those cases. <BR /> <BR />I move on to the issue of repeat offending in the context of prisons.”
“I do not propose to extend the unduly lenient sentence scheme to the Magistrates' Court, for the reason that the difference between the maxima and the minima in the Magistrates' Court is so small that it would clog up the courts with consideration of something that may amount to only a month or two of a difference. Doing so would therefore diminish the scheme's purpose. There is, however, a wider issue that someone else touched on, which concerns careful consideration of where the PPS decides to prosecute a case and whether it decides to do that summarily or on indictment.”
“My proposed sentencing Bill, however, will include provision to extend the arrangements to apply to all sentences that are imposed in the Crown Court. That approach takes account of feedback received during the Department's most recent sentencing policy review and aims to make the scheme more transparent and easily understood in order to ensure that it achieves maximum impact and improves confidence in sentencing.”
“As is stated in the motion, judicial guidance and training are managed by the Lady Chief Justice and delivered by the Judicial Studies Board. Any attempt to intervene or to direct in that regard would be a major encroachment on judicial independence. It is important that we listen to the LCJ on those issues. <BR /> <BR />Where a sentence is considered unduly lenient, the Director of Public Prosecutions can refer an eligible case to the Court of Appeal for consideration within 28 days of sentencing. Over the past year or so, we have seen a number of cases being so referred. At present, approximately two thirds of Crown Court sentences fall within the scope of the unduly lenient sentence scheme.”