Analysis in progress: 97,637 of 97,960 records assessed (99.7%). Totals and rankings will change until it finishes. Progress details
Mrs Naomi Long: Assembly records
All of Mrs Naomi Long’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not flagged, uncertain or not yet analysed.
I encourage anyone who is fearful for their safety to contact the police immediately. The police will do all in their power to respond. I appeal to people who are upset, angry and fearful about what happened last night to bear in mind that, if the police are distracted from the work that they need to do to investigate…
I very much do. I am not sure when I last heard any of the individuals whom the Member mentioned say anything about Northern Ireland. Anything that they have had to say about the UK of late has not been particularly good either. It is the people in north Belfast, and in Northern Ireland more generally, whom I care…
It will create something of an anomaly if we do not get the Bill through in the mandate, given that the current commissioner's term is due to end at the point at which a new statutory commissioner would come into being. That will create a challenge for the Department to manage. However, I am confident that, with…
I am pleased to announce that the victims and witnesses Bill was given authority to move forward by the Executive last week and is now with the Speaker's Office, which will do the normal due diligence on it in the hope that it can be introduced in time for the Committee to publish a call for evidence ahead of the…
There are a couple of things that I will say. First, when it comes to rallies, as Members will know, I am not a great believer in bringing large groups of people on to the streets when temperatures are inflamed and emotions are running high. I do not think that that has ever in Northern Ireland's history led to…
First, we clearly have an issue in that particular circumstance, in that a violent individual committed a very violent crime against another person. Far be it from me to diminish the seriousness of that incident, but do we have a problem with violence in this society? I think that the Member knows the answer to that…
Many teachers have given their support to the measures, so it is not the case that this is about the Department of Justice versus teachers, as the Member suggests. Many of those who are highly specialised in dealing with young people recognise that confronting a young person with their actions and the consequences of…
Schools already have disciplinary policies in place, not all of which, as things stand, require every incident to be referred to the PSNI. As I made clear in the Chamber earlier and will no doubt make clear again in the days to come, this is not about allowing people under the age of 14 not to be held accountable for…
It is vital that people remain calm. What happened last night was obscene. It would be just as obscene for us to inflict more pain and hurt on either that community or other communities that are completely unrelated to the incident that happened last night. It is important that we do not head into that kind of…
I am more than happy to do that. I reiterate the comments that I made in that regard this morning when we were debating legislation. The Speaker was generous enough to give me the latitude to do so. It is incredibly important to recognise what a horrific scene unfolded last night and how challenging and frightening…
As the Member will be aware, the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee reports are not binding on the Assembly and are a matter for Westminster. However, we will, of course, and always do reflect on any important report that deals with the issue of policing. One of the report's key findings was the Chief Constable and my…
Patten envisaged a new beginning for policing in Northern Ireland that is grounded in accountability, community partnership and policing with the consent of all. Twenty-five years on, while it is right to reflect on progress, it is wrong to suggest that the vision of Patten has not been realised. The transformation of…
To reassure the Member, I say that I have met representatives of the public protection branch — senior officers and others who work at the coalface in that work — and I am conscious of the difficult and challenging work that they do. Obviously, we want to be able to get them more resources to do that job better. If…
First, not all the delays that we experience in the justice system are down to the current action by the criminal Bar, although it has contributed significantly to them. As you know, the accelerated review concluded, as planned, on 27 April. I made decisions and met the criminal Bar and the solicitors' criminal Bar…
There is a clear need to reform and modernise the justice system. Along with justice partners, I have prioritised the speeding up justice programme of work, which is delivered across five key projects. The first project is on out-of-court disposals, where plans are in place to bring forward secondary legislation to…
As Members will be aware, I had hoped to be able to do that at Consideration Stage of the Justice Bill for new offences to criminalise the creation or sharing of non-consensual sexually explicit deepfake images. Unfortunately, we were unable to do it via an LCM, which would have brought us into line with England and…
The Criminal Justice (Sentencing etc) Bill was introduced to the Assembly on Tuesday 3 March. Second Stage took place on Monday 16 March. Committee Stage began on 18 March, with the Bill being referred to the Committee for Justice for scrutiny. The Committee launched a call for evidence on 31 March, which concluded on…
There are a number of things that we are looking to do. I already mentioned the bail support pilot that we hope to roll out, which will allow us to trial alternative methods of supporting people while on bail — so, outside the prison system. We are starting that with women in the first instance, but, if successful, we…
First of all, I recognise the incredibly difficult job that prison officers do, and I am never shy about saying that I think that they place themselves in a very difficult role. It is a very challenging role in which they deal with people who are vulnerable and volatile, often in equal measure. It is undoubtedly the…
We have had a number of conversations over many years, and, through the Executive, the Ministers are part of the wider programme to reduce offending and reoffending and sit on the programme board to drive that initiative forward. We recognise that stable accommodation, legitimate employment and the availability of…
The budgetary pressure on the Prison Service, as with other parts of the justice system, can mean difficult choices and poorer outcomes for those in the prison system. If we are to safely manage significant and sustained population increases, the Prison Service must have enough officers with the right training and…
On 1 June 2023, the total prison population in Northern Ireland was 1,858. By June of this year, the population had increased by over 12% to 2,086. It is to the credit of the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) and its staff that prison establishments have maintained stability and continue to perform effectively…
We have already been clear that we will have to introduce the right structures, and those will have to be scrutinised and stress-tested. That will be the start of a journey, not the end point. We would not enable the legislation immediately, because we will want to spend time with our justice partners looking at the…
With respect, the Member has a right to put his question, but I have the right to answer in whatever form I choose, and I will choose to answer in my own words and not those provided to me. As I stand here now, if someone under the minimum age of criminal responsibility commits a serious offence, we do not simply…
Were it to be reintroduced, we could end up running the risk of children of any age being referred into the formal justice system and considered potentially capable of understanding the crime that they had committed. We either accept that there is a minimum age of criminal responsibility or apply it differently. The…