Can the Chief Constable provide insight to why 71% of Vagrancy Act arrests between March 2018 – 2020 required the request of ACRO certificates or what reasons there might be for migrants being detained at a higher rate than non migrant rough sleepers? Additionally, with such a high instance of migrant vagrant arrests, has the PSNI undertaken any work, either independently or with partners, to establish the circumstances and needs of migrants living in various conditions locally?
I will address each part of your question in turn.
Vagrancy Act Arrests
There were 70 custody records between 1st March 2018 and 31st March 2020 where a person has been arrested and processed through police custody for an offence under the Vagrancy Act 1824 & Vagrancy Act 1847. However this will not include persons arrested and street bailed.
In 50 of these cases ACRO certificates were sought by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
It is a requirement in any matter considered for prosecution that every person’s criminality is provided to decision makers. This is true whether that be for victims, witnesses or suspects. A criminal record check is undertaken through the criminal record viewer (CRV) and the Police National Computer (PNC) to help inform the police decision maker as well as the PPS. To proceed with any enquiry without a criminal record check undermines the integrity of the prosecution and ultimately any sentencing of persons brought before the court. It is therefore critical that those with whom police engage for any offence and who are not from the UK are checked for criminal history in their own jurisdiction in the same way we treat our own citizens. This creates a parity and fairness in treatment between Northern Ireland citizens and those from outside our jurisdiction.
The aspiration is that PSNI would seek to acquire 100% record check requests and responses for charge or summons cases. However, consistent with guidance from the Home Office, there may be occasions when we do not do so:
- there are nations with whom there may be a risk in alerting them to the presence of an individual within our jurisdiction
- or there are other nations where we are aware there is unlikely to be any form of response and we do not raise a request through the UK Central Authority based in the ACRO offices.
In conclusion, it is our desire to provide a consistent approach in the provision of a criminal history, where one exists, with uniformity between all persons who come to our attention.
Partnership Working
We are of the view that homelessness ought not to be criminalised. Vagrancy is often the manifestation of other underlying issues (mental health, addiction etc.) and therefore when officers are dispatched to any incident of vagrancy, regardless of whether there are additional offences suspected, officers will try to establish any underlying issues, and identify whether either statutory or third sector support may help to address such matters.
From the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic, PSNI Policing with the Community Branch were tasked with establishing contact with Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) in order to ascertain how many homeless people in Northern Ireland were being offered temporary accommodation during the Pandemic and importantly where this accommodation was situated. NIHE provided regular updates on the total number of rough sleepers in Northern Ireland together with the locations of the temporary hostels/houses that NIHE were providing to homeless people. This information was then disseminated to our Area Engagement Chief Inspectors across the service.
In addition we are involved in the Homeless (COVID-19) Multiagency Steering Group, which also involves representatives from Department for Communities, Public Health Authority, NIHE, Health and Social Care, Probation Board NI, together with the various Health Trusts. From April onwards this group have held regular conference call meetings to provide updates on any issues or problems arising around Homeless People in Northern Ireland.
Whislt PSNI and other partners will look first and foremost to tackle the underlying causes of homelessness, the Vagrancy Act provides us with suitable powers to be used usually as a last resort, and only when necessary.
We would welcome any review of the Vagrancy Act that could offer suitable alternatives to enforcement.
John Blair - Alliance