Policing

A criminal defence lawyer has acted remotely for a client in a police interview in a Northern Ireland first. A digital mechanism was put in place after Ciarán Kerr-Johnston, solicitor at Belfast-based Brentnall Legal Ltd, issued pre-action proceedings against the PSNI on behalf of a client wh

New Garda powers to enforce lockdown restrictions should not be used as the consent-based approach "has been for the most part successful", civil liberties experts have said. Health Minister Simon Harris yesterday signed regulations giving gardaí powers to enforce restrictions on movement dur

The PSNI needs to carry out a "full audit" of its historical records to establish what material it may hold in relation to Troubles-related cases, a watchdog has said. The chief inspector of criminal justice in Northern Ireland, Jacqui Durkin, has called on the PSNI and the Office of the Police Ombu

Gardaí recorded sharp increases in fraud, gun and drug offences in 2019, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The number of fraud, deception and related offences recorded by gardaí rose to 7,944 in 2019, an increase of 26.2 per cent on the previous

Six people have been appointed to the Northern Ireland Policing Board with effect from April. The new independent members are Michael Atkinson, Dr Janet Gray, Edgar Jardine, Carmel McKinney, Frank McManus and Deirdre Toner.

The UK is to withdraw from the European arrest warrant scheme. In a document detailing Britain's approach to negotiations with the EU, the UK government said: “The agreement should instead provide for fast-track extradition arrangements, based on the EU’s surrender agreement with Norway

A man who was repeatedly stopped and searched under the Justice and Security (NI) Act 2007 has been granted a declaration that the PSNI, in failing to record the basis for searches carried out in 2013, acted in breach of the man’s right to respect for private and family life under Article 8 EC

A police officer has been rapped for recording a private area of a Belfast solicitor's office without informing the lawyer. The bodycam footage captured documents sitting in different parts of the office, and audio of a number of staff members from the legal firm engaged in phone calls, the Police O

Gardaí have gained access to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and the Labour Court to resolve industrial relations disputes. Under the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2019, which was enacted on Saturday, Garda members now have access through their representative associations.

The roll-out of live facial recognition technology across London has come under sharp criticism from human rights and civil liberties groups. The Metropolitan Police has announced it will begin the operational use of the controversial technology in order to tackle serious crime in specific locations

An Garda Síochána is "under strain" in areas including accommodation, training capacity, bringing in skilled resources, and introducing new ICT systems, the Garda Commissioner has said. Writing in the foreword to the force's annual report for 2018, Commissioner Drew Harris said the str

Policing Authority member Bob Collins has been named as the watchdog's new chairperson. Mr Collins will succeed outgoing chairperson Josephine Feehily, the inaugural officeholder who oversaw the establishment of the Policing Authority in 2016.

Just over one in ten of sexual offences reported to gardaí last year led to a suspect being charged, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The agency has published recorded crime detection figures for the first time in three years, having suspended them over conce

The Commissioner of An Garda Síochána has lost an appeal against an order quashing the decision to request the resignation of a Garda accused of sexual assault. Finding that the Commissioner was deficient in responding to the assertion that the Garda had pleaded guilty only on the basis of recei

The Policing Authority's chairperson, Josephine Feehily, will step down at the end of her term next month, according to reports. She is the inaugural chairperson of the Authority, having overseen its establishment at the start of 2016 as part of a programme of reform under former justice minister Fr