Policing

The PSNI has been granted permission to appeal a landmark ruling on legacy investigations to the UK Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal in Belfast ruled in March that the Chief Constable of the PSNI had not demonstrated the independence of the PSNI's Legacy Investigation Branch, which is necessary fo

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has won an appeal against a £7,500 damages award over delays in progressing the inquest of the death of Pearse Jordan. The Lord Chief Justice, Sir Declan Morgan, found that the trial judge had failed to differentiate between the period of delay for

A new cross-border crime agency is not "practicably possible" due to the collapse of devolution in Northern Ireland, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has said. The idea of a new agency has been repeatedly raised in discussions about the abduction and torture of businessman Kevin Lunney by a cross-b

The Metropolitan Police unlawfully banned London protests by environmental movement Extinction Rebellion last month, the High Court in London has ruled. Judges said the "Extinction Rebellion Autumn Uprising" did not qualify as a "public assembly" within the meaning of the Public Order Act 1986 becau

Former justice minister Dermot Ahern has called for the consideration of a new north-south body focused on policing in order to crack down on cross-border crime. Mr Ahern, who held the justice brief in the Fianna Fáil-led government from 2008 to 2011, said a new institution could complement t

The Policing Authority has today announced that it has commissioned a review of the An Garda Síochána adult caution scheme. The purpose of the review is to understand whether issues which arose in the Youth Diversion Programme exist, or have the potential to exist, in a broadly similar

The criminal justice system in England and Wales is "now dysfunctional and defective, broken and on-the-floor", policing watchdog chief Sir Thomas Winsor has warned. Sir Thomas, Her Majesty's chief inspector of constabulary, said the "inexcusably low" level of resourcing and investment in prevention

Gardaí are planning a number of raids on solicitors' offices as part of a crackdown on insurance fraud, according to reports. According to The Irish Times, the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) is planning to lead a number of "days of action", consisting of raids on the homes of su

Around 35,000 children have been stopped and searched by PSNI officers in the past nine years with little benefit for community safety, a major stop and search policing conference will hear today. The new PSNI chief constable, Simon Byrne, is among those attending the conference at Queen's Universit

The treatment of people in Garda custody will be subject to an independent review announced today by the Garda Inspectorate. The watchdog said it will look into all aspects of custody, with a particular focus on how the rights of persons in An Garda Síochána custody are protected, the

The landmark restructuring of An Garda Síochána announced today will "reduce bureaucracy" and lead to a "more agile and responsive police service", Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has said. Garda Commissioner Drew Harris today published the new "operating model", which provides for l

Chief Superintendent Johanna O'Leary has been appointed to lead a new An Garda Síochána unit aimed at stamping out corruption inside the police force. The new unit, announced by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris in May, will investigate allegations including drug use and associations with

A former garda who was dismissed in 1982 has received formal acknowledgement that he was sacked because of his "alleged homosexual activity". In a letter, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris told the man, who is using the pseudonym "Liam", that the Department of Justice had located a document confirming

Solicitor John Wadham has been appointed as human rights advisor to the Northern Ireland Policing Board. Mr Wadham met the Board's chair Anne Connolly and vice chair Deborah Watters for the first time yesterday.

A man who was wrongfully arrested on suspicion of attacking his fiancée, even though she insisted it was another man, has been awarded over €1 million by a High Court jury. Gerald Jennings, 34, sued the Garda Commissioner and the State over his arrest in Carlow on 2 December 2012 on susp