Justice Bill update
The new Justice Bill has been published but is not as ambitious as some may have wanted, Emma Blee writes.
The Assembly’s Justice Bill has been set out by David Ford but many are questioning if its remit is wide enough to tackle the province’s problems.
The Bill aims to improve services to victims through a new offender levy scheme and special measures for vulnerable victims and witnesses. It is the largest the current Assembly has dealt with and follows on from Ford’s promise to overhaul the justice system.
Justice Committee Chair Lord Morrow says the Bill should “change Northern Ireland for the better” but adds that it “could have been more ambitious”. He thinks that “it is too much of a pluck out” from legislation in England and Wales.
Morrow explains that the committee will now “take a long, hard look at the Bill clause by clause”. The committee will apply for more time to scrutinise the Bill if necessary as it is such a “significant piece of legislation”.
“I want to ensure that the Bill will be tailored for Northern Ireland. I don’t want a direct lift from England or Wales. This Bill needs to be able to cope with Northern Ireland’s situation,” he comments.
However, Morrow views the Bill as a good starting point: “For me, the most important part of the Bill is that victims are the heart of this legislation. There will be improvements to efficiency and I welcome that also.”
Morrow says he is looking forward to change and is glad that the committee has the opportunity to consider and scrutinise the Bill as this would not have happened under direct rule.
Policing
PSNI Superintendent Andrea McMullan says the Bill’s focus on system efficiency and effectiveness is key for the future of policing.
The PSNI is currently facing budgetary challenges and is no different from any other public sector organisation, she says. With a “real terrorist threat” and just half the police force they had 10 years ago the organisation has had to re-think the way they organise and carry out work.
An increasing administration burden has also had a big impact on the PSNI. In 2008-2009 PSNI submitted around 60,000 cases to the Public Prosecution Service. This meat that instead of police officers patrolling the streets, they were required to return to the office to fill out forms.
“This is not what the PSNI wants their police officers to be doing and it’s not what communities want them to be doing. This has removed officers from the front line but has also negatively impacted confidence, not just in policing but in the criminal justice system,” says McMullan.
However, the police force has already started looking at ways to improve efficiency and McMullan says the new Justice Bill will “widen the range of disposals” the PSNI have.
In April, discretionary disposal was introduced to deal with victims of low-level crime, which is being implemented gradually throughout the province. This means that victims now have a choice of how their crime is dealt with.
For example, in the case of a minor assault, an offender may be asked to give a formal apology to restore confidence to the victim, or in the case of criminal damage the offender may be asked to pay compensation. However, the offender must also agree and show remorse before the procedure is considered complete.
Reoffending
McMullan also welcomes the legislation on conditional cautions and sees this “as a way to tackle offending behaviour”. She says that studies have shown that tackling the cause of offending quickly can mean the person is less likely to reoffend.
However, the collection of the offender levy and fixed penalties could take up yet more police time. McMullan suggests that there are other ways, such as means testing, could be used to collect fines. Penalties could be taken directly from an offender’s income and police would not have to be involved.
Deputy Northern Ireland Ombudsman Marie Anderson says it is helpful to test new initiatives such as the PSNI’s discretionary decision project. “I feel that allowing police officers to exercise discretion in appropriate cases and providing them with the technology and information to do so, is a major step forward,” she said.
But Anderson says the Justice Bill could focus more on coming up with other resolutions rather than simply going to court to solve problems. She highlights that alternatives such as mediation could be used for families that are experiencing problems instead of taking the issue to court.
Justice Minister David Ford is “determined to speed up the justice system” and has included a range of proposals as alternatives to prosecution.
He added: “When I took on the post of Justice Minister just over six months ago, I set out my ambition to reshape the justice system, to build a safer Northern Ireland with lower levels of crime, safer shared communities and justice for all.
“This Justice Bill is an important part of that agenda. This is a significant piece of legislation which when passed into law, will start to make a difference to how the justice system deals with its citizens.”
