Naomi Long: I believe that the Member tabled that as a substantive question to be asked later. However, there are real challenges with the size of the prison population. In March 2021, the total prison population was 1,401; on 1 March this year, it had risen to 1,879, which is an increase of 34%. Within that, about 36% of the population are unsentenced, so those prisoners are on remand. It is a real...
Naomi Long: With your permission, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker, I will answer questions 5 and 11 together. I recognise that antisocial behaviour (ASB) in not only rural communities but any community can be a source of great anxiety and suffering to those who are affected. It is rare for community safety issues such as antisocial behaviour to be resolved by the criminal justice system alone. ASB...
Naomi Long: On the first of your two supplementary questions, frankly, it is not my job to direct where the Chief Constable deploys resources. That is a matter for him and him alone. With regard to neighbourhood teams, you will have to ask him where he is going to put his resources. However, I will work with him to ensure that the police are properly resourced, and I have made that case strongly today....
Naomi Long: There are a number of things that I will say to that. The first is that we are a member of the rural crime partnership. I mentioned some of the other members of that and what we are able to deliver in a rural setting. There is also a role for the PCSPs, which are funded by my Department, to do local awareness raising and provide schemes to encourage members of the public to report what they...
Naomi Long: My colleague raises a very valid point. Really complex issues underlie most offending behaviour, none more so than antisocial behaviour. On foot of a review that we have undertaken and the consultation, we are looking to bring forward some proposals for consideration. Policing and community safety partnerships are also well placed to bring forward some of the operational response to community...
Naomi Long: I am rather shocked that someone from the SDLP wants the Minister of Justice directing the police on operational matters, because, when it came to the Patten review, you were some of the most outspoken on the point that no future Minister of Justice should ever direct the police or interfere in operational matters. It is a very bizarre take. I am not the Minister for policing; my title is...
Naomi Long: My Department has no current plans to introduce legislation or to amend existing legalisation to remove injury-on-duty and pensions from the Policing Board's responsibilities.
Naomi Long: I am very conscious of the issue. I have not received any such request from the Northern Ireland Policing Board. Were such a request made, I would have to consider its implications, set against my Department's current business priorities, but I would be happy to do so.
Naomi Long: That is a really important issue. I am pleased to inform the Assembly that the independent referee assessment process recommenced on 4 March 2024. Moreover, the Department is in the final stages of procurement with a supplier for further resource to carry out that function so that we can resolve the backlog. We are hopeful that we will be able to get started on that soon.
Naomi Long: If the issue is about reform of the injury-on-duty scheme, that is a separate issue. I was asked a specific question on whether my Department intended to relieve the Policing Board of its duties under the current injury-on-duty scheme, which is the running of the initial scheme. The Department runs the independent appeals process. I said that we had not discussed that issue. I have in front...
Naomi Long: Many people come into our prisons with long-established addictions from years of drug use in the community. That results in the Prison Service, along with its partners in the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust, investing heavily in supporting, and, indeed, in challenging, those people to address their addictions, which, all too often, are central to their offending behaviour. As part...
Naomi Long: It is clear, if you look at the interim review report, that, although a lot of progress has been made — indeed, a new drugs response strategy has been implemented and embedded in Magilligan — there is still much work to do.
Naomi Long: I am pleased to advise that the stalking protection order provisions contained in the Protection from Stalking Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 came into operation on 19 October 2023. Consideration of the circumstances in which applications may be made to the courts for an SPO are an operational matter for the police. Although I cannot comment on operational matters, I understand that each...
Naomi Long: Wrap-around services are not directly the responsibility of the Department of Justice. However, as you are aware, there are other advice, guidance and support institutions for victims of crime, some of which give priority to victims of domestic abuse and stalking. As part of the domestic and sexual abuse (DSA) strategy that I hope to introduce shortly with the Minister of Health, there is the...
Naomi Long: As Members are aware, the domestic and sexual abuse strategy was in development just prior to the collapse of the Executive. It is now well advanced. The intention is that we will bring forward a cross-departmental strategic response to domestic and sexual abuse led by my Department and the Department of Health with input from the Department of Education, the Department for Communities and...
Naomi Long: I have not had such conversations since I returned to office, but I had extensive discussion with my colleagues in Westminster prior to the collapse of the Assembly. Obviously, the online harms Bill was one of the mechanisms identified to deal with online activity. I did not think that it went far enough and encouraged them to strengthen it further, but unfortunately that did not happen. By...
Naomi Long: I would be more than happy to do so.
Naomi Long: I am committed to supporting the Chief Constable in delivering high-quality policing across Northern Ireland. A key component of that is a properly resourced and fairly remunerated workforce. In that context, I was pleased to secure an additional allocation from the Executive in February to allow the relevant pay settlements to be taken forward. I can confirm that I have considered and...
Naomi Long: I am aware of the challenges, but I cannot give reassurance on recurrence because it is simply not in my gift to do so. What may be possible will depend on the ongoing negotiations between the Minister of Finance and the Treasury. While I would be keen to see that money added to my budget next year so we can give that reassurance, I am not in a position to do that this year. However, in the...
Naomi Long: That is, indeed, a stretch. However, I am looking at the terms of reference of the review. I spoke to the chair and vice chair of the Policing Board recently and agreed that, with the return of devolution, it is for the Department of Justice to take forward that review. We are finalising the options around that.