Niacro

NIACRO'S RESPONSE TO THE NIO CONSULTATION PAPER ON Draft Police and Criminal Evidence (Amendment)(Northern Ireland) Order 2006 and associated Codes of Practice

14th June 2006

1. Introduction

1.1 NIACRO, the Northern Ireland Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders, is a voluntary organisation, working for 35 years to reduce crime and its impact on people and communities. NIACRO provides services under the headings of: promoting safer communities; working with children and young people who offend; providing services to families and children of offenders; supporting offenders and ex-prisoners in the community; working with prisoners.

1.2 NIACRO has links with, receives funding from, and/or works in partnership with all the main criminal justice agencies in Northern Ireland.

1.3 We welcome the opportunity to respond to NIO Police Division consultation document "Draft Police and Criminal Evidence (Amendment Northern Ireland) Order 2006 and associated Codes of Practice."

1.4 NIACRO through our work with children and young people who offend or are at risk of offending and with adult offenders have extensive knowledge of the perceptions of Police practice and how it impacts on our client base. We believe it is very important that the Police are seen to act in a fair and impartial manner in carrying out their duties. It is also important that codes of practice emphasise the best practice expected of police officers and that they are strictly adhered to.

General Points

2.1 NIACRO are disappointed that the Department has not carried out an Equality Impact Assessment and indeed, that they do not believe that one needs to be carried out. It is our view that PACE legislation and codes of practice do have implications for specific sections of the population who are more likely to be subject to the provisions of the Order and codes of practice. In particular, juveniles are impacted on more severely by stop and search and other powers and need special protections as regards their detention and questioning by police officers. It is also likely that certain ethnic minorities and political groups will be impacted on more by the legislation and codes of practice and an EQIA would be able to address these concerns.

2.2 NIACRO recommend that the NIO reconsider its view that an EQIA is not necessary and subject the Order and codes of practice to an Equality Impact Assessment as a matter of urgency and prior to their adoption.

2.3 NIACRO are disappointed that an opportunity to bring police practice into line with the internationally agreed definition in the UNCRC of children as under the age of 18 has been missed. International legal best practice defines children as those aged under 18 and the NIO should implement that practice in the Order and the codes of practice. This links to the point above where those under 17 and those aged between 17 and 18 will be treated differently under the draft Order and codes of practice though the legal definition accepted by most bodies is that children are those aged under 18.

Draft Code A

3.1 NIACRO are pleased to see that the draft codes of practice emphasise that "powers to stop and search must be used fairly, responsibly, with respect for people being searched and without discrimination". It is extremely important that the police do use the powers in this way and are seen to do so as part of building confidence in the police and ensuring that these powers are not used to target specific groups or localities.

3.2 Searches requiring reasonable grounds. NIACRO would emphasise that "reasonable suspicion" can be a subjective matter and that particular groups, because of their age, ethnic background or political affiliations may still be targeted unnecessarily under these codes of practice. Therefore, it is extremely important paragraph 2.2 is emphasised in training for officers.

3.3 Conduct of Searches. NIACRO again would emphasise that how police carry out these powers has a major impact on the perception of them held by the community. It is essential that officers do minimise the embarrassment to the person being searched by using these powers only when absolutely necessary and as far as possible out of the public view.

3.4 NIACRO recommend that the code of practice be amended so that where a more thorough search is considered necessary it should never take place in a police van but in a police station or other building out of public view. Police vans are intimidating and are not suitable places for searches to be carried out as they are not built for that purpose and cannot facilitate the search being carried out in a respectful and courteous manner. We would recommend that searches are never carried out in police vans.

3.5 NIACRO agree that the reasons for stop and search and what the search is looking for must be clearly stated and given in writing to the person being searched. A record of the search must always be given to the person and we cannot envisage any circumstance where this would not be necessary at the time except perhaps, in public disorder situations.

Draft Code C

4.1 NIACRO are pleased to see that a custody officer must treat a person as being mentally disordered or vulnerable if they suspect that is so or are told that is the case in good faith. This is particularly important given the high number of offenders who have mental health difficulties and the need to ensure that their special needs are met while in custody.

4.2 NIACRO reiterate the point that the code should specify all those under 18 as being treated as juveniles and as children.

4.3 We would draw your attention to the research conducted by Katie Quinn and John Jackson on behalf of the Northern Ireland Office in September 2003 and the recommendations of that report that are still outstanding. In particular, the role of appropriate adults, the difficulty children have in understanding what is happening and their rights when in custody, the needs of parents and families to be kept informed and treated courteously alongside others. The outstanding recommendations of this research should be implemented fully prior to the implementation of the draft Order and these codes of practice.

4.4 NIACRO welcome the specific safeguards for juveniles within the code of practice but would recommend that custody officers and police officers in general are given training on children's rights and their ability to understand and process information at differing stages of their development.

4.5 NIACRO welcome 1B guidance notes as it specifically relates to children in residential care where staff should not act as an appropriate adult where an incident is alleged to have taken place within the care home. Again, we would draw attention to the research mentioned above and to the recent research carried out by the Youth Justice Agency on admissions of 10-13 year olds to custody.

4.6 NIACRO recommend that the code of practice emphasise more strongly the need for the custody officer to strongly recommend to juveniles, particularly, their right to seek legal advice and that this can be quickly and efficiently arranged. Young people will often waive their right to legal representation because they are anxious to get out of the police station and do not have the ability to think about future consequences of not having legal advice in the same way that adults might. Therefore it is extremely important that the appropriate adult and the custody officer ensure that their right to and need for legal advice is emphasised to them and that such legal representation can be made available quickly.

4.7 NIACRO recommend that child friendly information is available in all police stations to advise children of their rights, what is likely to happen while they are in custody, the caution, the interview process and the importance of accessing legal advice, the role of the appropriate adult etc., Such accessible information should also be available to adults with mental health difficulties or learning disabilities and in different languages for those from ethnic minority backgrounds. This information should also be given to parents.

Conclusion

5.1 NIACRO are please to have the opportunity to comment on the "Draft Police and Criminal Evidence (Amendment Northern Ireland) Order 2006 and associated Codes of Practice." We would ask that the NIO give urgent consideration to the need to carry out an EQIA and that the specific safeguards for juveniles is extended to all those under 18.