Session 2006/2007 Second Report COMMITTEE ON THE PREPARATION FOR GOVERNMENT Report on Law and Order Issues TOGETHER WITH THE MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS, OFFICIAL REPORT, CORRESPONDENCE AND OTHER PAPERS RELATING TO THE REPORT Ordered by the Committee on the Preparation for Government to be printed 13 September 2006 Report: 2/06R (Committee on the Preparation for Government) £29.00 Committee on the Preparation for Government Under the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 2006, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Rt Hon Peter Hain MP, directed on 26 May 2006 that a Committee should be established on the necessary business relating to the preparation for Government. On 12 June 2006, the Secretary of State directed that the Deputy Presiding Offi cers, Mr Jim Wells and Mr Francie Molloy, should chair the Committee. Membership The Committee has 14 members with a quorum of seven. The membership of the Committee since its establishment on 26 May 2006 was as follows: Mark Durkan MP Dr Alasdair McDonnell MP Dr Sean Farren Alan McFarland David Ford Martin McGuinness MP Michelle Gildernew MP *David McNarry Danny Kennedy Lord Morrow Naomi Long Conor Murphy MP Dr William McCrea MP Ian Paisley Jnr * Mr McNarry replaced Mr Michael McGimpsey on 10 July 2006 At its meeting on 12 June the Committee agreed that deputies could attend if members of the Committee were unable to do so. The following members attended at various times: Billy Armstrong George Ennis Alban Maginness Alex Attwood Michael Ferguson Alex Maskey Esmond Birnie Arlene Foster Sean Neeson Dominic Bradley William Hay Dermot Nesbitt PJ Bradley Derek Hussey John O’Dowd Francie Brolly Dolores Kelly Pat O’Rawe Thomas Buchanan Gerry Kelly Edwin Poots Gregory Campbell MP Patricia Lewsley Margaret Ritchie Wilson Clyde Fra McCann George Robinson Fred Cobain Kieran McCarthy Peter Robinson MP Michael Copeland Raymond McCartney Caitriona Ruane Bob Coulter Nelson McCausland Kathy Stanton John Dallat David McClarty Mervyn Storey George Dawson Michael McGimpsey Peter Weir Diane Dodds Patsy McGlone Jim Wilson Alex Easton Philip McGuigan Sammy Wilson MP Contents Executive summary 1 Conclusions 5 Introduction 7 Consideration of Law and Order Issues 10 Devolution of Policing and Justice 10 Policing 17 Justice Issues 18 Rule of Law 20 Appendix 1 – Minutes of Proceedings 23 Appendix 2 – Offi cial Reports 57 Appendix 3 – Proposals not agreed by the Committee 309 Appendix 4 – Papers prepared by the Assembly Research Service 313 Appendix 5 – Correspondence with the Secretary of State’s Offi ce 355 Appendix 6 – Directions from the Secretary of State 391 Appendix 7 – Work plan published by the two Governments 411 Main Report Executive Summary Introduction 1. At a meeting on 24 July 2006 the Preparation for Government Committee agreed to take forward a number of issues, identified by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, within the Committee itself rather than through sub-groups as had originally been proposed. At a further meeting on 26 July the Committee considered how to take forward the work on the issues which had been identified (during party presentations made in a series of meetings in June 2006) for consideration in preparation for Government. It was agreed that the Committee would meet each Wednesday to address law and order issues. The Committee sought a meeting with the Secretary of State to discuss a number of issues related to the devolution of policing and justice. The earliest available date for this meeting was 18 September 2006, which was after the Committee had completed its formal consideration of these matters. The Official Report of the meeting will be published separately. Law and Order Issues 2. The first meeting of the Committee dedicated to matters of Law and Order took place on 2 August 2006. The Committee considered the options for grouping issues for discussion and the sequence in which they should be considered. It was agreed that the composition of the groups and the order of consideration should be as follows: Devolution of Policing and Justice Policing • Intelligence Services • Policing Issues • Police Ombudsman Justice Issues • Community Restorative Justice • Residual Justice Issues Rule of Law • Criminality • Decommissioning • Paramilitarism 3. As the discussions progressed, the issues of the intelligence services and policing issues were subsumed into the more general debate on Devolution of Policing and Justice. 4. The proposals put to the Committee and their outcome are set out in the Report. 1 Report on Law and Order Issues Devolution of Policing and Justice 5. Discussion on the Devolution of Policing and Justice centred around: the structure of a policing and justice department (or departments) and Ministerial arrangements; the degree to which policing and justice powers should be devolved; the issue of collective responsibility; and accountability for Ministers and the question of Ministerial support for the rule of law. 6. The Committee agreed that a single department should be established to administer policing and justice but left the matter of the Ministerial arrangements to be discussed by all the parties collectively. 7. The Committee considered a range of proposals on when policing and justice should be devolved but was unable to reach agreement. 8. In paragraph 3.2 of the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) Discussion Paper ‘Devolving Policing and Justice in Northern Ireland’ (http://www.nio.gov.uk/devolving_police_and_justice_in_ northern_ireland_a_discussion_paper.pdf) the Government set out in broad terms the areas that it would envisage devolving should the Assembly wish it. The Discussion Paper suggested that there were fundamental linkages between the various elements of the policing and justice system and that devolving it piecemeal would be likely to undermine its capacity to operate as a coherent system. The Committee agreed that all of the reserved matters identified in paragraph 3.2 should be devolved. 9. The NIO Discussion Paper also identified a number of areas within the general heading of policing and justice where devolution was not so straightforward and which required further consideration. These matters are clearly set out in Table 1 of the NIO letter of 15 August 20061. Members discussed these matters in detail and reached agreement on the extent of devolution proposed for the following: Prosecutions. Community Safety Partnerships. Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice for Northern Ireland. Explosives. 10. There were a number of headings within Table 1 of the letter of 15 August on which the Committee focused its attention. The Government indicated specific instances where it felt that devolution was either inappropriate or required detailed consideration by the political parties. Members had extensive discussions on all of these matters as detailed in paragraph 52 of this Report, however, the Committee did not reach agreement on the extent of devolution proposed for the following: The criminal law and offences and penalties. The prevention and detection of crime and powers of arrest and detection in connection with crime or criminal proceedings. Treatment of offenders (including children and young persons, and mental health patients involved in crime). 1 NIO letter dated 15 August 2006 in Appendix 4 2 Main Report Compensation. Public Order. The police and the policing accountability framework. Co-operation between the PSNI and Garda Siochána in relation to a specific series of matters. Firearms. The Courts. The Northern Ireland Law Commission. Policing Issues 11. The Committee considered a number of matters related to the Police Ombudsman including the appointment arrangements, public confidence in the Office, accountability arrangements and operational independence. A proposal was made relating to a role for the Assembly in the appointment arrangements for the Police Ombudsman but the Committee did not reach agreement on this matter. Justice Issues 12. The Committee considered the issue of Community Restorative Justice (CRJ) including: the relationship between the CRJ schemes and the police; the application of formal guidelines; the dangers of being too restrictive; accredited training for those involved; accountability mechanisms; inspection and review and the protection of vulnerable people. 13. A number of proposals were considered concerning the operational standards to be applied, the links between such schemes and the policing and justice agencies and the vetting of those involved. The Committee did not reach agreement on any of these matters. 14. Under ‘Residual Justice Issues’, Members discussed exiling, the respective roles of District Policing Partnerships and Community Safety Partnerships, greater openness in relation to the Public Prosecution Service and the work of the Youth Justice Agency. 15. The Committee agreed to a proposal condemning the practice of exiling, and noted the work of the Youth Justice Agency and the Probation Board. Members did not reach agreement on a proposal that, to be included in government, political parties should support the police and encourage others to do so. Rule of Law 16. The Committee discussed a wide range of matters under the composite heading of criminality, decommissioning and paramilitarism. These included: the role of political parties in encouraging paramilitary organisations to engage with the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD); creating confidence in the decommissioning process within the Unionist community; support by political