Naomi Long

The Justice Bill 2024 will amend retention periods for biometric material and make changes to bail and custody arrangements for children and young people, as well as aiming to improve services for victims and witnesses and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of aspects of the justice system.

Justice minister Naomi Long said: “The Justice Bill is another step forward on our journey to reform and modernise our justice system, improving its operation and effectiveness, and making it a better system for all.

“The bill will allow for the development of a framework for the retention of biometric material, including DNA and fingerprints. This will mean such material will no longer be kept indefinitely and a review of current retained material will be carried out.

“The bill will also allow for the appointment of a new commissioner in Northern Ireland to provide important oversight of the new framework and review process.”

Changes to existing legislation around bail, remand and custody for children will seek to improve outcomes for children and young people.

“Custodial sentences for children are always a measure of last resort, and only when the offences necessitate them. This new legislation will further protect those young people in custody by ensuring they are only held in a youth custodial facility, which is the appropriate place for their needs,” Mrs Long said.

A number of amendments have also been agreed by Executive ministers for planned inclusion in the bill at consideration stage, including:

• provisions to transfer the powers and functions contained in section 43 of the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007 from the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to DOJ to manage the accreditation process for organisations wishing to deliver restorative justice;
• provisions to amend rehabilitation periods in the Rehabilitation of Offenders (NI) Order 1978 to shorten existing rehabilitation periods and to allow more convictions to be able to become spent;
• provisions to facilitate the wider use of video and audio-conferencing systems — i.e. live links — within courts (criminal and civil) and tribunals, thereby allowing the cessation of reliance on similar provisions in the Coronavirus Act 2020;
• provisions to streamline arrangements for the maintenance and ease of understanding of the existing list of 1,200+ sexual and violent offences that cannot be filtered from disclosure certificates by AccessNI;
• provisions to allow for the repeal of vagrancy legislation (the Vagrancy Act 1824 and the Vagrancy (Ireland) Act 1847); and
• provisions to tackle those who participate in or direct serious organised crime.

The minister said: “This is important legislation, which strengthens existing law and will have a real, tangible and positive effect on the justice system.

“I look forward to working with the justice committee and Assembly colleagues to ensure the provisions of this Bill are enacted this mandate.”