Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Justice to detail any safeguards that exist to reduce the risk of unnecessary (i) arrest; and (ii) restraint, of neurodivergent people during police encounters.
Minister of Justice: In general, the powers and procedures in the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (PACE) Codes of Practice must be used fairly, responsibly, with respect for the people to whom they apply and without discrimination on the grounds of religious belief or political opinion, racial group, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender or disability.
Safeguards are provided under Article 26 of the PACE NI Order 1989 and Code G of the PACE Codes of Practice, to reduce the risk of unnecessary arrest for any individual. Officers must have reasonable suspicion of involvement in an offence and reasonable grounds to believe the arrest is necessary.
There are also clear safeguards within the Codes of Practice (primarily Code C and G) requiring that any use of any force, including restraint, must be necessary, reasonable and proportionate, and only used for lawful purposes. Code C further requires that particular care must be taken when considering the need for the use of any form of approved restraints on a vulnerable person in a locked cell.
These safeguards are in place for all individuals, no one is excluded.
A new safeguard will be included in the revised PACE Code A, Powers of Stop and Search, when commenced on 1 July 2026. This requires officers to be mindful that neurodiverse people can inadvertently exhibit suspicious behaviours and to consider this for searches based on reasonable grounds for suspicion based on behaviour.
ENDS
Your MLA 