Debate contribution: Antisocial Behaviour: North Belfast
Debate contribution by Mrs Naomi Long on .
- MLA
- Mrs Naomi Long
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 22 April 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Antisocial Behaviour: North Belfast
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4484240
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Addressing antisocial behaviour (ASB) in any area requires partnership working, as it is rare that such issues are addressed by the criminal justice system alone. My Department works collaboratively with local and central government and other relevant agencies who have the levers needed to put in place joined-up, long-term solutions to prevent incidents from arising and tackle the impact of ASB. The Department’s interfaces team works alongside local communities and elected representatives to help to address the issue of antisocial behaviour in areas around interface structures. In response to the antisocial behaviour in that specific area, the Youth Justice Agency continues to actively engage with key stakeholders, including the PSNI, social services, the Education Authority and other youth providers to ensure a more joined-up problem-solving approach. The Youth Justice Agency operates earlier stage diversion, with partnership initiatives that include its targeted schools programme, community resolution scheme and a multi-agency children’s diversion forum, which has remained particularly effective in addressing wider systemic needs while ultimately diverting children away from the formal criminal justice system. Additionally, the Department, along with the Northern Ireland Policing Board, provides annual funding for district policing and community safety partnerships (PCSPs), which play a key role in the Department’s operational response to community safety issues — including ASB — across all communities. North Belfast district PCSP has funded a number of initiatives, including those that are focused directly on the Girdwood and Cliftonpark Avenue area, and, in recent months, has coordinated multi-agency meetings to ensure a proactive partnership response to issues in the area.
257 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 (0.80).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations.
- 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 | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.03 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.80 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.46 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.42 |
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.09 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.02 |
| Education structures, integration and community division | 0.01 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:00 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.