Policing

The Department of Justice must develop a strategy to address the threat posed by corruption in the criminal justice sector, the Garda Inspectorate has urged. Its inspection report makes 34 recommendations to prevent corruption in An Garda Síochána and other agencies, and highlights the

Technical legislation is set to be brought forward to facilitate the "full rollout" of An Garda Síochána's new operating model. Ministers today published the general scheme of the Criminal Justice (Garda Síochána Operating Model) Bill, which will eliminate legislative imp

Controversial spit hoods have been rolled out to thousands more PSNI officers in spite of a call from the Northern Ireland Policing Board for their use to be "phased out as soon as possible". Four NGOs – Amnesty International, the Children's Law Centre, CAJ and Include Youth – have calle

It should be mandatory for children detained by gardaí to receive legal advice from specialist solicitors, a landmark study commissioned by the Policing Authority has suggested. A first-of-its-kind study into children's experiences of their rights during police questioning in Ireland has been

The Police Federation for Northern Ireland has said it will launch judicial review proceedings over the suspension of a PSNI officer involved in an arrest at a memorial marking the 29th anniversary of a mass shooting. An officer was suspended from duty and another was repositioned after Mark Sykes,

The PSNI's use of discretion and penalty notices to deal with low level offences has improved but more work remains to be done, the criminal justice watchdog has said. Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJI) has published a follow-up review assessing progress in the implementation of reco

Four people, including a solicitor and a barrister, have been nominated by ministers for appointment to the Policing Authority. Shalom Binchy, Elaine Byrne, Dr Donal de Buitléir and Stephen Martin are set to fill the four vacancies on the nine-member watchdog body.

Northern Ireland's police watchdog has launched an investigation after an "altercation" involving an arrest at a memorial marking the 29th anniversary of a mass shooting. Mark Sykes, one of the survivors of the deadly 1992 shooting at the Sean Graham bookmakers on Ormeau Road, was arrested on Friday

The Court of Appeal has overturned a Circuit Court decision to withdraw a case from a jury because the defendant was not questioned by gardaí about the alleged offences. The court said that the defendant had “no entitlement to be detained and questioned” by gardaí in order

The High Court has granted an order for full costs despite the applicants only being partially successful in their judicial review proceedings. The court considered the case to be one of “general public importance”, raising significant issues regarding journalistic privilege and freedom

A female prisoner in Northern Ireland has tested positive for Covid-19 for the first time, the Northern Ireland Prison Service has said. The positive test at Hydebank Wood College comes around four months after the first positive test of a prisoner in Northern Ireland in Maghaberry last September.

A damning report from the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland on the treatment of Black Lives Matter protesters will be raised in ongoing litigation, a human rights firm has said. Belfast-based Phoenix Law, which represents a number of those fined for participating in BLM protests in Belfast and D

The PSNI's different treatment of Black Lives Matter protesters and loyalist counter-protesters was unfair but not motivated by racism, the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland has said. The watchdog has published a 90-page report into the policing of Black Lives Matter protests in Belfast and Derr

Gardaí will now issue cautions to adults caught with small amounts of cannabis and cannabis resin in a significant expansion of the adult cautioning scheme introduced nearly 15 years ago. The scheme provides "an alternative to the prosecution of certain persons against whom there is evidence

Ireland is set to join a major EU law enforcement system next March in a "game-changer" for Garda investigations of cross-border crime. The European Council has approved Ireland's connection to the Schengen Information System (SIS II), the largest and most widely used IT system for public security i