Research Approach

• People's experience of the CJS in Northern Ireland in terms of their willingness to participate and reasons for not participating were investigated using a social survey approach. This involved examining the findings from two Omnibus surveys (November 1998 and February 1999), supplemented by available data from the Community Attitudes Survey 6th Report (1999) and the Northern Ireland Crime Survey. Each survey was conducted throughout Northern Ireland using a probability sample drawn from the Valuation and Lands Agency list of private addresses.
  

Main Findings

Experience of the CJS in Northern Ireland

• Just under one in ten people (8%) of people came into contact with the courts annually, and just over one-third of people (34%) have had contact with the courts at some time in their life.
  
  
• 14% of those who have had experience of the courts have been in contact with a criminal court at some time.
  
  
• Around two-thirds of those who experience contact with criminal courts say that this happened only once.
  
  
• The most common reason for contact with a criminal court is jury service, which is given as the reason by 4 in 10 people.

Willingness to Participate in the CJS in Northern Ireland

• Around one third of people (32%) contact the police on at least one occasion in any one year, and approximately one in ten report a crime to the police at least once annually.
  
  
• Willingness to report various crimes that have been witnessed was generally high ranging from 96% for witnessing a burglary or child sex abuse, to 23% for witnessing benefit fraud.
  
  
• When people say that they would report a crime they don't always mean to the police. For instance, most of those who said that they would report benefit fraud stated that they would make their report to the Social Services (63%), as would a quarter (27%) of those who said they would report a case of child sex abuse. Almost two thirds (63%) of those who said they would report a case of shoplifting and a quarter of those who would report vandalism would report it to the owner of the property.
  
  
• For most crimes, people are less likely to be prepared to make a statement to the police than to report the crime in the first place, and even less likely to be prepared to give evidence in court.

Reasons for not Participating in the CJS in Northern Ireland

• The most frequently mentioned reasons why victims had not made a report to the police were that the crime was too trivial or that there was no loss or damage, or that the police could have done nothing.
  
  
• Levels of worry about giving evidence in a magistrates' court or a Crown Court were similar.
  
  
• Fear of intimidation or retaliation was the most prominent concern for both those saying they would give evidence at court as well as for those who said they were not prepared to give evidence.
  
  
• Issues such as the wearing of wigs and gowns, being sworn in, symbols on walls and names of buildings, did not appear to give rise to much worry either for people who said they would give evidence or for those who said they would not be prepared to give evidence.