Debate contribution: Prisons 25by25: Update
Debate contribution by Mrs Naomi Long on .
- MLA
- Mrs Naomi Long
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 17 June 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Prisons 25by25: Update
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4496376
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Member for the opportunity to do so. A number of years ago, when I visited the prisons, one of our staff had helpfully designed a programme to support children with autism or, indeed, neurodiversity to access prison visits better than had been the case in the past. As people will appreciate, family connections are a hugely important part of the rehabilitation process. They are also a hugely important part of a prisoner's life when they are apart from their family and, conversely, for their family when they are apart from the prisoner. Therefore, a lot is at stake when those visits go well or do not go well. Autism and autism spectrum disorders can lead to people finding the prison environment stressful and to a degradation in the quality of visits. That programme was put in place to support individuals who are neurodiverse and acquaint them with the processes that they would face when they arrive at prison, with the different stages of search and with the environment. Obviously, those who have particular sensory issues will often find prison a stressful environment. The noise, the sniffer dogs and the change of environment can be stressful, so preparing children, in particular, and adult visitors for what to expect when they arrive at the prison has proven to be valuable to families. We also recognise that some of our prisoners arrive with complex needs and often with undiagnosed neurodiversity issues. We are looking at how we can better support those prisoners on their journey through the system so that they get the maximum benefit from their time in our custody.
271 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: 0.03 (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 (0.75).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- 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 | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.75 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 1.00 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:43 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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