Crime and Criminal Justice Resources

Questions on the criminal justice system were asked in Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) survey in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Questions on crime and fear of crime were asked in NILT survey in 1998.

Questions on police stop and search experiences were asked of 16 year olds in the Young Life and Times (YLT) survey in 2017.

Questions on community safety and perceptions of paramilitary influence were asked in NILT in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Questions on community safety and perceptions of paramilitary influence were in YLT in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020-21, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Questions on gender-based violence were asked in NILT in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Questions on gender-based violence were asked in YLT in 2022, 2023. 2024 and 2025.
Questions on coercive control were asked in NILT in 2020.
Questions on coercive control were asked in YLT in 2020-21.

Questions on road safety were asked in NILT in 2019 and 2023.

Questions on criminal responsibility were asked of 10-11 year olds in the Kids' Life and Times (KLT) survey in 2016.
Questions on criminal responsibility were asked of 16 year olds in YLT in 2023.

ARK Resources

• Understanding the persistence of armed/paramilitary groups in Northern Irelandt by Brendan Sturgeon, Duncan Morrow, Lucy Geddes, Dominic Bryan, Siobhán McAlister, Claire Hazelden and Peter Sheridan is an ARK Working Paper which considers this topic in Northern Ireland.
• Northern Ireland Peace Monitoring Report - A team led by ARK produced the Fifth and Sixth Peace Monitoring Reports which chart peace, political and social policy (including the criminal justice system and policing) in Northern Ireland.
• Sticks and Stones? Violence experiences of 16-year olds in Northern Ireland (Research Update 150) by Dirk Schubotz, is based on data from the Young Life and Times Survey.
• Policy Roundtable: Public Understanding of Coercive Control In Northern Ireland (Policy Brief 23) by Susan Lagdon, Julie-Ann Jordan, Ann Marie Gray and Goretti Horgan, is based on an ARK round table event in August 2022.
• Young People's Understanding of Coercive Control (Research Update 143) Susan Lagdon, Julie-Ann Jordan, Lucia Klencakova, Ciaran Shannon, Mark Tully and Cherie Armour.
• Public Understanding of Coercive Control (Research Update 141) by Susan Lagdon, Julie-Ann Jordan, Ciaran Shannon, Mark Tully and Cherie Armour.
• Abortion and Access in Prison (Policy Brief 26) Maureen Mansfield, Kirsty Kitchen, Conor Murray, Emma Campbell and Fiona Bloomer, is based on a round table event held in 2023.
• Stay Onside: Applied Football Studies: A psychosocial evaluation of accredited sport-based interventions with prisoners (Policy Brief 22) by Conor Murray, John Bell, Philip McCready, Colm Walsh, Gavin Breslin and Brendan Coyle.
• “Do your whack”: Investigating the needs and experiences of young men imprisoned in Northern Ireland (Policy Brief 13) by Conor Murray discusses the findings of research conducted in 2016 into the experiences and needs of young men aged 18-24 imprisoned in Hydebank.
• Reviewing the Review: Barriers to Implementing the Northern Ireland Youth Justice Review (ARK Feature 10) by Clare Dwyer and Siobhán McAlister explores what progress has been made in the implementation of the 2011 Youth Justice Review.
• Raising the age of criminal responsibility: endless debate, limited progress (ARK Feature 3) by Clare Dwyer and Siobhán McAlister highights issues and research relating to the age of criminal responsibility.
• Raise the Age? Children’s attitudes towards the minimum age of criminal responsibility by Siobhán McAlister, Nicola Carr, Clare Dwyer and Katrina Lloyd (Research Update 113) is based on data from the 2016 Kids' Life and Times survey.
  
• Read The Public and the Police by John D. Brewer from Social Attitudes in Northern Ireland: The Second Report.
• A study into the Attitudes to crime, crime reduction and community safety in Northern Ireland was commissioned by the Criminal Justice Review Group in 1999.

Links

• The Department of Justice has responsibility for justice and law, prisons, forensic science, legal aid, youth justice, policing and community safety, and courts and tribunals.
• The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland provides an independent, impartial system for the handling of complaints about the conduct of police officers.
• The Public Prosecution Service decides whether or not to prosecute people for committing criminal offences. It decides what the correct charges should be and is also responsible for prosecuting the case at court.
• The Office of the Commissioner for Victims of Crime monitors criminal justice organisations to make sure victims of crime get their entitlements under the Victim Charter. It also reviews how the Victim Charter works and is delivered within criminal justice organisations to improve how victims of crime get their entitlements.
• The Statistics section of the Police Service of Northern Ireland web site provides a range of crime-related information.
• Reports on public awareness of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland are based on data from NILT.
• Victim Support is a charity providing support for people affected by crime.

Maintained by Paula Devine