Topical question AQT 1165/22-27
Topical question by Mr Gerry Carroll on .
- MLA
- Mr Gerry Carroll
- Party at the time
- People Before Profit Alliance
- Date
- 24 March 2025
- Type
- Topical question
- Assembly reference
- AQT 1165/22-27
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4865153
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Mr Carroll asked the Minister of Justice, given that people from a Catholic background represent just over 51% of the prison population whilst those from a Protestant or other Christian background represent around 32%, whether she believes that there is sectarian bias in the justice system.
46 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Follow-ups by the same MLA in the Chamber
These were assessed together with this record:
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: 0.37 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- Criteria met: Identity framing (0.70).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.67).
- The text reports, quotes or asks about the framing rather than adopting it (0.49).
- Subject area: Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations.
- The overall probability was low and the text did not adopt any identity-based framing.
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 | 0.70 | Yes |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.06 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.06 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.16 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.15 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.67 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.37 | Between thresholds |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.16 |
| Reports or questions it (chosen) | 0.49 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.02 |
| Adopts it | 0.33 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.83 |
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.17 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:10 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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