Debate contribution: Criminal Justice System: Failure to Transform

Debate contribution by Mrs Naomi Long on 6 October 2025.

MLA

Mrs Naomi Long

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

6 October 2025

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Criminal Justice System: Failure to Transform

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5157619

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I very much welcome the Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland report, 'Transforming the Criminal Justice System in Northern Ireland: A Strategic Overview', which was published in November 2024. I acknowledge that it provides a challenge to the justice system to reflect on our pace and approach to change and transformation. The report, however, also acknowledges the difficulties that the system has faced in making such progress, including the inheritance of issues that existed prior to devolution, such as delay, access to justice, victim and witness care and the effective rehabilitation of offenders. The combined absence of the Northern Ireland Assembly for prolonged periods, poor annual budget allocations year-on-year and the challenges of business continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic added to the challenges that the criminal justice system has faced in recent years. It is worth noting that work to speed up justice was starting to reduce the time that it took for cases to proceed through the Crown Court in the first two quarters, until COVID hit in 2019. It is also important to acknowledge that the CJINI report highlighted a number of notable achievements in recent years, including the reform of youth justice, which reduced the number of children in custody and the number of cases prosecuted at Youth Court. That, in particular, will have long-term implications, because a reduction in youth offending among our young male population will feed through the system. We know that young people will graduate from one part of the system to another, so that is critical. The achievements also include the continued development of the Causeway system to facilitate the electronic sharing of information on criminal cases between key justice agencies and the use of live links, to name but a few. The use of live links is critical when it comes to discussing not only the speeding up of justice but the impact on victims and witnesses. It is also important to note that the nature of the crime that the criminal justice system is dealing with is not standing still. The Chair of the Committee asked how we can have all of this technology and not make efficiencies. Of course, the criminals also have access to all of that technology, which makes the investigation of many offences much more complex and time-consuming. I would have thought that that was apparent without my having to spell it out. Cases are becoming ever more complex. The increasingly digital world in which we live is reflected in investigations, where, often, technology is used in the commission of offences and digital devices need to be analysed for evidential material that may be relevant to deciding whether to prosecute. Those are significant challenges that create pressure across the system. I will look back slightly further. Since devolution, a number of measures have been introduced to help improve the system. New measures were introduced to simplify the summons process and to encourage earlier guilty pleas. I will come to the issue of early guilty pleas, because, of course, there is a court ruling that constrains the amount of credit that a judge can give, depending on the timing of the guilty pleas. That is something that we are actively looking at. More proportionate forensic reporting and the first phase of committal reform have been delivered. It was not thanks to the Chamber that we got there on committal reform, because, in 2015, the first attempt by an Alliance Minister to come forward with committal reform was shot down in the House by one of Mr O'Toole's colleagues at the time and Mr Gaston's colleague. However, we managed to get there eventually. Its removal for victims and witnesses meant that they would not have to give oral evidence more than once during committal proceedings. Measures were also introduced to divert low-level cases from the formal criminal justice system through the use of penalty notices in 2012 and community resolution notices in 2016. However, despite efforts to date, the number of cases prosecuted in court remains relatively high, which is having an impact on the finite Justice resources and contributing to pressure on the system. Of course, that is not helped when people make a clamour and say that every case must go to court, irrespective of whether it is serious or otherwise or when people argue that every criminal must go to jail, because anything that is not jail is not effective. All of that noise affects the risk appetite of justice partners in the system. It does not affect my risk appetite, because I recognise that it needs to happen.

I will indeed.

Absolutely. They led the working group that led to the proposals on which I am now consulting on behalf of the Criminal Justice Board. We try to be collective, but some people will try to unpick even that. The long-standing and ongoing funding challenges for Justice are also well articulated in the Chamber. They will, undoubtedly, impact on what can be delivered. To be clear, I cannot do everything with nothing. I either have the resources or I do not, and that will have an impact on what the Department can achieve. The DOJ's share of the Northern Ireland block grant has fallen continually over the past 14 years. It has fallen from just under 11% in 2011-12 — I would argue that that was not sufficient, given that there was no anticipation that we would still be dealing with the overhang of legacy at this remove — to just over 8% in 2025-26.

That underfunding continues to hamper efforts to transform the justice system, as funding is, quite rightly, prioritised to demand-led, front-line activities, including policing, prisons and courts. It is also in contrast with the Department of Education and the Department of Health, which have seen massive increases in the proportion of the block grant that they get, yet they have delivered precious little by way of transformation.

That leaves the system with less than 0·5% of discretionary spend, making it extremely difficult to engage in meaningful transformation and to sustain that transformation. Although we have an appetite for change, it is only now, through successful bids and through initiatives such as the public-sector transformation board that we can find the significant funding that is needed to sustain our endeavours. It is important to raise those issues for context, but I want to focus on key developments in the Department and in the wider justice system that I believe will address the questions posed and allay some of the concerns that have been raised, assuming, of course, that Members raised them in good faith. I, along with colleagues across the criminal justice system, recognise that long-term sustainability is dependent on reform and modernisation in order to enable the optimisation of resources to deliver a more efficient and timely service. In response to the strategic recommendation in the CJINI report, my Department is leading on work to develop a criminal justice vision that will be used to define system-wide strategies, objectives and actions. The shared vision and priorities, when finalised, will be communicated and embedded in justice organisations' planning in order to provide a shared sense of direction. CJINI recommended that the work be completed within six months. Given the scale and significance of the ambition, however, combined with the complexity and independence — yes, independence — of independent parts of the system, it is important that it be done properly, that we do not encroach on their independence sphere by bringing it forward and that they all buy into the vision. That work is therefore ongoing, and CJINI is aware of that work and is being engaged as part of the wider consultation process to develop the shared vision. It is important that the process be collaborative and inclusive but also that it recognise the independence of the constituent members of the justice system.

Not at this point. CJINI accepts that position, and we will have the work finalised in the coming months. The vision will be key to embedding a collaborative, cross-justice approach to issues affecting the criminal justice system. The Chair of the Committee also asked about the review of the purpose and membership of boards and fora aimed at reducing duplication and freeing up capacity. That was undertaken in May, and no significant issues emerged as a result of the review. Most people felt that the work that was being done by the boards that they sat on was sufficiently different and distinct from the work of some of the other boards that it would not be —.

I will not at this point. As I was saying, they felt that their work was sufficiently different and distinct from the work of some of the other boards that it would not necessarily be appropriate to make changes to them, but we are revisiting some of the review's findings at the moment. The CJINI report also noted a lack of cross-justice investment in and development of technology and that individual organisations did not always consider the impact of specific changes on other organisations in the system. In the coming months, my Department will publish a new digital justice strategy to tackle those issues. It is a pivotal initiative that aims to support the delivery of a modern digital justice system. In this age and at this time, we recognise the necessity of providing secure, trusted and user-friendly technology to support those working in the justice system and those who need to engage at any point with justice organisations. It is a cross-justice strategy that has been developed in partnership with stakeholders right across the system and aims to ensure that technological developments are used to enhance processes and access to services and to embed a culture of digital transformation in years to come. In addition, we are continuing to progress work across a range of topical issues that the report highlighted as being long-term issues for the system. Delay is one of the biggest challenges that the justice system faces, and it has been identified as a key priority by me as Minister and, indeed, by the Criminal Justice Board and other justice agencies. Delaying criminal cases has a negative impact on those who come into contact with the system, as well as on wider confidence in the community. The speed with which cases progress is of huge importance to victims, witnesses, the accused, their families and wider society. The delivery of a speeding up justice programme is a Programme for Government commitment under the safer communities priority. The programme is a joint, cross-justice, collaborative effort under the direction of the CJB, on which senior leaders of the criminal justice system are represented, including me, the Lady Chief Justice, the Chief Constable, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the director of the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunal Service, as well as a number of senior officials, including the Commissioner Designate for Victims of Crime, who, I believe, has to be at the heart of transformation because of my personal commitment to ensuring that the system services victims.

The programme takes a whole-system approach and focuses on reducing avoidable delay, reducing demand, freeing capacity and facilitating more proportionate and effective responses to offending behaviours. It also aims to take advantage of technological developments to improve operational processes and the communication between justice organisations and the public. Earlier this year, the Department successfully secured £20·5 million of transformation funding to support the programme's delivery. That has already been used to accelerate ongoing work in the early engagement and out-of-court-disposals projects. It is a significant boost to progressing the important programme of work, but, ultimately, progress will be dictated by decisions made in the House, and whether those decisions are based on evidence or populism will be a test for the Assembly, not solely for the Department. The Department is also finalising the new victims and witnesses of crime strategy. Our mission statement is:

"providing victims and witnesses, including children, young people and vulnerable users, with tailored support and effective communication in a transparent, rights-compliant way".

In recognition of the fact that victims and witnesses are impacted on across many areas of justice, the strategy and action plan that are currently in development have been planned in collaboration with criminal justice organisations, Victim Support NI, the NSPCC and the Commissioner for Victims of Crime and will complement and inform related work streams, including tackling delay, which, I believe, will support ongoing system-wide improvement. As I pointed out, significant improvements have already been made as a result of the remote evidence centres, which I also championed. It is important to recognise that that breakthrough technology will allow people to have their cases heard and to get the outcomes that they want. I recognise that delays in the justice system can contribute to pressures elsewhere in the system. For example, long case-processing times can result in individuals spending longer in custody on remand, awaiting trial. That not only puts a strain on our prisons but can have a detrimental impact on the individuals involved, the victims, their families and, indeed, those who are on remand. Contrary to what was said, the Prison Service does not deny support for people who are on remand. It is not the case that there is no support. In fact, on the contrary, the Prison Service strives to encourage individuals who are held on remand to engage in purposeful activity whilst they are in custody. However, the reality is that the engagement can often be seen as an admission of guilt, and many fear that it will impact on their court outcomes. That, combined with the long case-processing times, can lead to individuals being released with their time having been served on remand with little to no rehabilitative work completed. We cannot compel people to engage when they are on remand. They are not guilty until the point of conviction, so we cannot compel them, but the offer is always there if people want to take it up. It is also a driving factor to progress the speeding up justice projects at pace, and I welcome the work that has been completed to date. That is why I am also keen, where it is appropriate and possible, to offer the judiciary viable alternatives to remand in custody, including a new bail support scheme that we hope to pilot in early 2026. That will initially support women to remain in the community while awaiting trial and will provide them with wraparound support to live independently while addressing their offending behaviours. It is notable that, despite that backdrop, some of the best prison inspection results that we have seen have happened in the past number of years. Our prisons, which were treated as basket cases and were among the most dangerous prisons in Europe, are now among the best. They are seen as exemplary, so let us not say that things have not and cannot change. A key priority for the Department is the reduction of offending and reoffending. I am more than happy to go to the Committee and give an account of the work that we are doing in that space. A significant range of measures have been implemented over recent years to contribute to the transformation and modernisation of the criminal justice system. Undoubtedly, challenges remain, not least in light of the funding challenges that we face. However, at the end of the day, money that is invested in other Departments is not invested in Justice. Every time a Minister makes a call for additional resource, that is money that could go into the justice system to speed up justice, improve outcomes and give better support to victims and witnesses. When people come to the House, make demands and want to see things change, I hope that they will also go to their colleagues in the Executive and make it clear that the funding needs to follow what we want.

2,666 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:26 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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