THE NORTHERN Ireland Office (NIO) has unveiled a five-year plan to cut crime and antisocial behaviour.
The initiative was launched in Belfast yesterday by security minister Paul Goggins against a backdrop of continuing disagreement between Sinn Féin and the DUP over the transfer of justice powers from the NIO to the Executive.
Included among Mr Goggins’s plans is a proposal to force parents of children who have caused trouble to pay for any damage.
The minister said: “It is not right for the victims of crime to go without compensation just because it’s children who cause the damage.” He said parents of children who engage in antisocial activity could also be forced to attend parenting courses in an effort to help them cope with the challenges they face.
Under other proposals police could be given extra powers to disperse small groups of young people when they fear there could be a disruption of the peace. These dispersal powers could be used in a wide range of situations.
Unveiling his proposals, Mr Goggins said: “Making Northern Ireland a safer place to live, work and socialise is a top priority for [the British] government. We want to put in place an effective and responsive strategy for the next five years that fully reflects the needs of everyone in society.
Pointing to the overall drop in official crime figures, he said: “Over the last five years we have seen a 15 per cent reduction in recorded crime. That means over 21,000 fewer criminal acts – an average of 82 fewer crime victims every week.
“Public confidence in the criminal justice system is increasing, but we cannot afford to be complacent.”
He said crime, fear of crime and antisocial behaviour combine to have a devastating impact on individuals and communities. “It is vital that we continue to tackle these issues at all levels,” he said.
“The draft proposals put a clear focus on ensuring that the needs of the community come first. And we want to enable local people and their community organisations to be directly involved.
“We are putting added emphasis on diversion and prevention, with a clear focus on families, young people and the need to build strong confident communities. Today is about looking forward – about sharing proposals for the future delivery of community safety and encouraging everyone to play their part in making our communities safer.”
Mr Goggins set out his proposals under three main headings: Creating Safer Neighbourhoods, Focus on Families and Young People and Building Strong Confident Communities.
The draft is now open for consultation and responses are sought before January 19th.
Mr Goggins looked to the eventual devolution of policing and justice powers to the Stormont Executive.
“I hope that in due course the implementation of this plan will be overseen by a local justice minister,” he said, “not only because it is right that the criminal justice agencies should be subject to local accountability, but also because community safety involves every aspect of government and the co-ordinated contribution of each department.”