Question
A recent media report compiled from FOI statistics indicated that close to double the number of Catholics than Protestants were arrested and charged over a five year period. What analysis has PSNI carried out on these arrest and charge figures? To what do PSNI attribute this major discrepancy?
Answer
The Police Service does not currently have a legislative power to require those who are arrested to provide information on their community background. The monitoring of community background statistics is, therefore, challenging in demonstrating an accountable balance between the exercise of police power, human rights, and data protection principles.
It is important to note, that the figures provided in the Freedom of Information response are based on information voluntarily submitted by an arrested/charged person. Many individuals refuse to provide religious breakdown information when requested, impacting on statistical understanding.
The 'Other' category in this response includes any religion that isn't 'Roman Catholic' or 'Protestant', including people whose religion has not been recorded. This ‘Other’ category is significantly large, in fact the largest category in 2020, and is likely to include a proportion of individuals from both the ‘Roman Catholic’ and Protestant’ communities who do not wish to disclose their community background.
The Police Service is currently liaising with the Department of Justice, the Secretary of State and the Northern Ireland Office to explore the possibility of enacting enabling legislation relating to community background monitoring in relation to stop and search, following calls by the Lord Chief Justice, the Policing Board and Independent Reviewer of the Justice and Security Act to record community monitoring data.
The organisational use of policing powers is monitored by our Policing Powers Development Group (PPDG) which is chaired by the Assistant Chief Constable for Operational Support Department and is now attended by members of our Independent Advisory Group.
The contributory factors, influencing the disparity in arrest rates, highlighted by the Freedom of Information request, undoubtedly require further analysis and exploration. A dedicated piece of work will be commissioned by the Policing Powers Development Group at the next meeting in March 2022. A further update will be provided to the Board in due course.
It is important to reassure the Board, and indeed the general public, of the Police Service’s organisational expectation that police officers and staff exercise powers and deliver services impartially, regardless of community background; and indeed this is a core value of policing acknowledged within our Code of Ethics and Competency and Values Framework. Human Rights and equality are foundational to policing and are embedded in training, application, supervision and oversight. Independent oversight by the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and legislative governance arrangements provides additional safeguards.
There are a number of points of assurance. A significant proportion of arrests result from calls for service from the public. All arrests must be justified on a case-by-case basis by the arresting officer and reviewed by a custody officer, under the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, based on the grounds and necessity for arrest. Further to this, charging decisions are made independently of the Police Service by the Public Prosecution Service. Further assurance is provided by the dedicated operational oversight arrangements that have been implemented during the pandemic, whereby all operational officers require the input of the Covid-19 Strategic Coordinating Centre prior to making an arrest.
In terms of organisational oversight, strategic trends are examined at the Policing Powers and Delivery Group and at the Service Performance Board on an ongoing basis.
The Chief Constable has, for some time, been exploring the concept of increasing lay assurance and performance management oversight on the use of police powers to bring greater challenge and transparency.
Further updates on this matter will be provided to the Board in due course
Liz Kimmins - Sinn Féin