Debate contribution: Substance Misuse Court
Debate contribution by Mrs Naomi Long on .
- MLA
- Mrs Naomi Long
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 14 April 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Substance Misuse Court
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5482269
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Yes. As I said, set criteria are available for referrals to the Substance Misuse Court, and defendants can be assessed as not being suitable. After a four-week engagement programme, they are assessed to see whether they are in a position to engage effectively with the programme. It is only after that initial screening and assessment period that a defendant will be accepted on to the programme. That individual will be required to attend court and probation, initially weekly, and to engage in drug and alcohol testing and counselling or treatment. That will include undergoing psychological assessment and intervention, if appropriate. Participants can also be removed from the programme for a range of reasons. While there is no straight-line approach to dealing with the issues of substance misuse and addiction, the programme allows people who are in a position to do so to maximise the support that is available to them to desist from their addiction and the offending behaviour that initially brought them before the courts.
166 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: 0.02 (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).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- 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 | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.56 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | 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 |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.84 |
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.12 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.04 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:17 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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