Debate contribution: Justice Bill: Consideration Stage
Debate contribution by Mrs Naomi Long on .
- MLA
- Mrs Naomi Long
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 15 June 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Executive Committee Business
- Heading
- Justice Bill: Consideration Stage
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5614544
Read the official Assembly record
Text
A fallacy seems to have grown up that, because something is not a criminal offence, the police will have no role in it. That is not the case. The police can still have a role. For example, if a nine-year-old or an eight-year-old commits what would otherwise be a criminal offence, the police have the right to detain that young person for their own safety before engaging with other services to ensure that that young person is able to get the support that they need. That applies particularly in the case of a vulnerable young person who may be subject to criminal exploitation. It does not necessarily remove the police from the initial phase of investigating what happened and identifying who was responsible, but it means that it will not be investigated as a crime and that the young person will be diverted automatically into other multi-agency areas. Records will still have to be kept. For example, if somebody who is nine years old and has committed an offence that is of concern then commits more than three offences in any rolling 12-month period, that would be brought to the attention of social services, the care system and others. Provision for children who are younger than the minimum age of criminal responsibility is already in place. It is not about saying that they are not accountable for their actions; it is about that accountability being age-appropriate. We say that those young people can be held accountable and can still be protected as potentially both a perpetrator and a vulnerable person without us having to criminalise them. That is key, because the stigma of criminalisation — deep contact with the justice system — tends to breed further contact with the justice system. We know that from studies that have been done. If we can divert people from the justice system at those younger ages, we are unlikely to have to deal with them again when they are 14 or older. That is an important point, because that is when offending tends to get more serious and to be of greater concern to most people than cases in which young people perhaps get swept up in things when they are much younger.
370 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.04 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.95).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.04 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.95 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.04 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.77 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.17 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.05 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:55 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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