Justice ministers discuss north-south co-operation

Justice Minister Naomi Long MLA and Justice Minister Heath Humphreys TD met virtually to discuss north-south co-operation under the Intergovernmental Agreement on Co-operation on Criminal Justice Matters.

Mrs Long said: “Cross-border co-operation on justice matters is vital to both of our jurisdictions. I welcome the opportunity to meet with Minister Humphreys and take forward discussions on a range of cross-border initiatives under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Agreement.

“Co-operating on these initiatives and sharing learning on issues such as offender mental health, hate crime, youth justice, forensic science and support for victims contributes greatly to ensuring we are doing everything we can to promote good practice in these areas.

“The Covid pandemic has also presented us with significant challenges across both justice systems. It is important that the innovative responses and learning which were generated in response to the pandemic are shared to our mutual benefit.”

Mrs Humphreys said: “Cross-border co-operation in policing and criminal justice matters remains a priority and our meeting today displayed the high degree of dynamic co-operation between our criminal justice systems.

“I was encouraged to hear of the ongoing excellent work in sharing our experience and practices across a range of areas, including training to deal with high risk offenders, sharing information in relation to youth offending, ongoing work in relation to support for victims and tackling issues such as hate crime.

“During the meeting we also took the opportunity to discuss the impact of the Covid pandemic on our criminal justice systems and looked forward to how we can build on what has been achieved and learned during the pandemic, as we face the challenges ahead.”