THE NORTH’S Minister of Justice David Ford has pledged to “work closely” with his counterpart in the Republic Dermot Ahern to tackle cross-Border criminality and to combat the threat from dissident paramilitaries.
Mr Ford, launching his 10-year plan to reform the North’s justice system at Stormont yesterday, said there would be strong co-operation with the Minister for Justice “to ensure that we close down the opportunities and loopholes that organised criminals and paramilitaries use”.
Mr Ford is to chair the Organised Crime Task Force Stakeholder Group, an inter-agency group that helps devise methods of dealing with organised crime gangs, including those operating on both sides of the Border and those who engage in money laundering.
“The criminals are smart – our responses need to be smarter. They work quickly and in partnerships, and so must we. They co- operate across borders, and so will I,” said Mr Ford.
In a speech to senior justice and community representatives, Mr Ford said he was determined to “maximise the existing the potential benefits” of the recent devolution of justice powers to the Northern Executive. “My ambition is to reshape our justice system to build a safer Northern Ireland, with lower levels of crime, safer, shared communities and justice for all,” he added. He now had a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape the justice system to fit the needs of Northern Ireland”.
Mr Ford challenged dissident republicans to express their ideology by peaceful, political means.
“That is acceptable and a sign of a healthy democracy, but what is not acceptable is to target individuals who are serving our community and to resort to violence, to attempt to force our community – Protestant, Catholic and neither, nationalist, unionist and other – to accept your views through fear, intimidation and violence.”
The Minister said he would use the resources available to him to ensure a “robust response” to the dissident paramilitary threat.
He wanted to streamline the justice system and would eschew any “play-safe” approach to achieving reform.
Among proposed new initiatives would be to finding alternatives to prison for certain levels of crime and imposing a financial levy on offenders with money raised used to support victims of crime.