Debate contribution: Justice Bill: Consideration Stage
Debate contribution by Mr Paul Frew on .
- MLA
- Mr Paul Frew
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 15 June 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Executive Committee Business
- Heading
- Justice Bill: Consideration Stage
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5614907
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I want to make this point while it is in my head. Sian said that, when a child is caught up in the criminal justice system, the question that should be asked is, "What happened to that child?". That is the fundamental question that should be asked. If that is not happening now, why not? Why are the police not asking that question? She said it is about asking, "What can we do to support that child?". Surely the police ask that question too. That is fundamental. I agree with Sian and others who push that, because we need to make sure that we ask the right questions to identify a child who is being exploited. We should not have a binary system whereby we say, "This child has committed a crime; therefore, they are a criminal". We should not do that in the criminal justice system, and I do not believe that we do or, at least, have not done for hundreds of years. That is why we treat children differently in our justice system. If the Minister is saying that that does not happen, that is a failure of our criminal justice system that needs to be fixed. I will give way again.
205 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: 0.05 (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 (0.85).
- 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 | 0.03 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.85 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.05 | 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 | 0.68 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.19 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.09 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.04 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:57 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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