Debate contribution: School Security Protocols
Debate contribution by Mr Paul Givan on .
- MLA
- Mr Paul Givan
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 7 April 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- School Security Protocols
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4890457
Read the official Assembly record
Text
With your permission, Mr Speaker, I will group questions 3 and 8. I condemn the disruption caused by the recent school closures due to security concerns, and I welcome the speedy response from the PSNI. Our young people and staff should be able to attend school without concerns about their safety or security. The Department’s building handbook specifies the use of CCTV in schools with respect to building and site security and is for the protection of school premises and grounds against vandalism and theft. The handbook also provides for an intruder-detection system and external lighting for school security purposes. For new-build schools, consultation with the PSNI crime prevention design adviser and architectural liaison officer takes place on all aspects of site and building security from an early stage of development. If schools have concerns about their existing security infrastructure, they should submit an unavoidable minor works application, supported by a PSNI report. Guidance on security and personal safety is available on the Department of Education’s website, and the Education Authority’s health, safety and emergency planning service is also available to provide schools with information and guidance. While that guidance was originally introduced in 1997, it remains relevant and largely current. However, I am happy to commit to a review of the guidance to ensure that it remains appropriate and up to date to mitigate the risks in today’s world.
230 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 (0.89).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.99).
- 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 | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.89 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.04 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.99 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.01 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.74 |
| Education structures, integration and community division | 0.20 |
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.04 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.02 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:18 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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