Debate contribution: Hate Crime Legislation
Debate contribution by Mrs Naomi Long on .
- MLA
- Mrs Naomi Long
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 9 September 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Hate Crime Legislation
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4511554
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Setting aside the rather vulgar framing of the question, to be absolutely clear, my heart, my mind and my efforts are all pointed in one direction, and that is to ensure that we have the best possible law and legislation in place at the end of this mandate to protect victims of hate crime and to give them access to additional protections in court. It is not me who has been engaged in grandiose spats and distraction politics. I have been focused on what my Department can do, and my officials have worked very hard, but, with respect, my officials cannot take decisions on what are controversial issues politically. That requires a Minister to be in place. Therefore, the public order elements of Judge Marrinan's report, which, in many cases, cover the same ground as the report by the Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition, for any of you who wish to cast your mind that far back, are likely to take significant effort. I do not want to hold up interventions that will support victims in the here and now by awaiting something that may be essential in my view but that is purely aspirational to other members of the Executive.
203 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: 0.20 (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 (0.68).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.62).
- 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 | 0.08 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.06 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.08 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.15 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.68 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.20 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.62 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.12 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.26 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.86 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.14 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:58 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
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