The Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, Sir Declan Morgan, has backed the creation of problem solving courts in Northern Ireland.

Sir Declan told BBC programme The View that the US and Scotland had successfully tackled re-offending rates in their respective jurisdictions by establishing special drugs courts.

He told the programme: “There is no reason why Northern Ireland should not enjoy the same type of approach and hopefully the same benefits.”

Alastair Ross MLA, chair of Stormont’s justice committee, added: “We need to move away from this narrative that things are either soft on crime or tough on crime.

“What we need to do is get smarter on crime. That means looking at the evidence from elsewhere in the world and seeing what works and what does not work.”