Round-up: The Criminal Justice System North and South – Current Challenges and Opportunities for Change

14th March 2024

Irish Penal Reform Trust and NIACRO held our most recent All-Island Fund event ‘The Criminal Justice System North and South – Current Challenges and Opportunities for Change' in the Canal Court Hotel, Newry, County Down on Thursday 14 March 2024.  

Speakers included experts from across the island examining challenges for the State with current systems and identifying opportunities for improvement, which was then followed by discussions on the opportunities for change and what is needed to deliver these.  

For the first panel with statutory agencies to talk about challenges and opportunities in the criminal justice system from the State perspective: Steven McCourt OBE (Department of Justice NI); Jacqui Durkan (Chief Inspector, Criminal Justice in Northern Ireland); Ben Ryan, (Assistant Secretary General from Department of Justice, ROI); Mark Wilson, (Director of Probation Service, ROI); and Mark Kelly (Chief Inspector, Office of Inspector of Prisons, ROI). 

We heard that all of the agencies – both North and South – are facing challenges with the increasing number of people in prison leading to chronic overcrowding all over the island. Common issues of concern also centred on the high number of people in pre-trial detention in both jurisdictions, an increasing number of women in both criminal justice systems and the clear mental health challenges faced by people in custody. Difficulties in attracting staff to the sector was also a common theme with the cost-of-living crisis evident on both sides of the border.   

Examining opportunities, the panel highlighted the importance of measures to give judges alternative options to using imprisonment where appropriate, particularly when it comes to the use of remand. Expanding the use of a bail supervision scheme was mentioned as one possible solution. 

The forthcoming ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) and establishment of a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) for the criminal justice system in ROI was an area where it was felt a lot could be shared from the existing Criminal Justice Inspectorate for Northern Ireland given its years of expertise and experience.  

It was evident that the different bodies liaise closely with their cross-border colleagues and counterparts given the sharing of ideas, strategies and working methods. Some of the key takeaways from the panelists included: that there's more that joins us than divides us; the need to learn from best practices but also what hasn't worked so we don't repeat mistakes; and the importance of having relationships across North and South. 

For the second panel of civil society on best practices, we welcomed speakers from HAIL Housing; Release; Family Links, NIACRO; and Support Hub, START 360. 

Ronan O'Dúláine, Prison In-Reach Mental Health Housing Support Worker at HAIL in the Republic of Ireland, spoke about his work which includes many people on remand. Some common themes amongst referrals that he sees include a transient background, a history of being marginalised/excluded from services, and a lack of support.  

Rachel Long, Director of Operations at NIACRO (NI) spoke about their Family Links project which supports families of people in prison. One of the figures she shared to show the scope of the impact was that 1,833 children are separated from their parents by imprisonment in NI at any given time (based on a prison population of 1,414). 

Philip Larragy, CEO of Release (ROI) informed attendees of the organisation’s work in supporting people leaving prison to live transformed lives. He spoke of programmes that have proven to change attitudes towards offending and reoffending, including around restorative justice. 

Peter Shaw, Community Sports Network (NI) and Melissa Frame, Start 360 (NI) spoke about the Support Hub - a collaborative service working with Prison Arts and the Community Sports Network. They provide support to people who have been in contact with the justice system. 

Attendees heard that some service providers are already supporting people on an all-island basis. Some people who are released from prison in one jurisdiction require post-release services in another. While it was acknowledged that some organisations can provide that, it was recognised that more could be done. 

Each of the two panels were followed by Q&As and a wider workshopped discussion about building our all-island work.

#AllIslandJustice

This event is made possible through funding from the All-Island Community Fund which is jointly facilitated by the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland and the Community Foundation for Ireland.