Debate contribution: Department of Justice: Trauma-informed Practice
Debate contribution by Mrs Naomi Long on .
- MLA
- Mrs Naomi Long
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 28 September 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Department of Justice: Trauma-informed Practice
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5762124
Read the official Assembly record
Text
As lead Minister for the Executive programme on paramilitarism and organised crime, which has invested over £1·5 million to support the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland in embedding trauma-informed practice across sectors, I fully support the adoption of trauma-informed approaches in my Department and across all of our public services. The Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland works with Justice partners to ensure that our services recognise the impact of trauma and are delivered in ways that support better outcomes for individuals and communities. The establishment of a Justice-wide trauma-informed practice group in 2021, supported by the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland, has provided a platform to share information, advice and best practice, as well as driving a consistent approach to trauma-informed practice across all Justice organisations. The group also considers the impact on and support for staff working in the Justice system, given that their roles mean that they are frequently exposed to vicarious trauma. As a result, organisations have increased awareness and understanding of the impact and signs of trauma and bring that knowledge to their daily interactions, policies and procedures to actively reduce re-traumatisation and explore pathways to recovery. Each justice organisation is at a different stage in its trauma-informed journey. Some, such as the Probation Board and the Youth Justice Agency, are more advanced and have participated in the internationally recognised Oregon tool assessment to evaluate their alignment with trauma-informed care and to monitor their progress. Others may be only at the start of that work, but there is a common vision of a trauma-informed justice system based on the lived experience of those who engage with it.
271 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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