Policing

The Supreme Court has held that the seizure of computer devices from an accused murderer’s home was unlawful in circumstances where gardaí failed to seek authority from the District Court when applying for a search warrant. While the gardaí always intended to search the digital c

A review of PSNI strip-searches of children and young people in custody will be carried out after concerns were raised by the Children's Law Centre (CLC). The Northern Ireland Policing Board said its human rights adviser will "review the compliance with human rights in how the PSNI addresses childre

Security forces across the world are increasingly misusing rubber and plastic bullets and other law enforcement weapons to violently suppress peaceful protests, causing horrific injuries and deaths, human rights campaigners have said. In a jointly-produced 48-page report titled My Eye Exploded, Amne

Northern Ireland’s High Court has allowed a judicial review application brought by a serving police constable seeking to prevent a disciplinary hearing into allegations of gross misconduct. The court found that judicial review here was appropriate, despite the fact that there were alternative

The Irish government has welcomed the launch of an updated information sharing system across the EU to help fight terrorism and serious crime.

The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland has commenced an investigation into the PSNI policies and practice and the obligations imposed on police officers when interacting with vulnerable people. Considered by the Ombudsman, Marie Anderson, to be an area of high risk where failings could lead to in

Northern Ireland’s High Court has determined that the Northern Ireland Policing Board (NIPB) did not have grounds to reject medical evidence involving injuries at work for two former constables. The court found that the medical evidence determination, not the Board’s, was final.

Prosecutorial powers should be removed from gardaí as part of the landmark bill giving effect to many of the recommendations of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, the government has been told. The Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023 was debated at second stage

Human rights campaigners have raised concerns about the disproportionate use of stop and search by the PSNI on people from minoritised ethnic communities and on children. Figures published this week show that 21,190 people were stopped and searched in Northern Ireland by police last year.

Ireland's proposed new police ombudsman will not have institutional independence under the government's current legislative plans, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) has warned. The policing watchdog has published a detailed set of observations on the Policing, Security and

An Garda Síochána will pilot the use of body-worn cameras as soon as this year if new legislation is enacted on the government's timetable. The Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022, which justice minister Simon Harris is introducing to the Dáil today, will

UK police chiefs have apologised for having "profoundly failed" the families of the 96 people unlawfully killed in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. Leaders from the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) today set out their response to an independent report which was commi

The PSNI has been urged by human rights campaigners to end the practice of strip searching children. Members of the NI Policing Board told investigative news and analysis website The Detail that they continue to have concerns despite the force establishing a new "accountability panel" last year.

Northern Ireland’s High Court has found that a failure by police to properly investigate a suspected 1976 murder is potentially a breach of their common law and statutory duty. The court granted judicial review, finding that this question was an important point of public law.

Landmark legislation giving effect to the recommendations of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland (CoFPI) is set to be published with a view to it becoming law next year. The Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill will overhaul the legal framework of accountability, governance a