By Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland’s (CJI’s) 

Re-building policing in the post-conflict era demanded a concerted effort to establish trust, confidence and the legitimacy of policing within all communities of Northern Ireland. Policing by consent and policing with the community were key defining principles of the Police Service of Northern Ireland which required policing to be based locally, within communities. While local policing in Northern Ireland has undergone various iterations over the last 22 years, the importance of local engagement has remained. The Community Safety Framework (the Framework) was developed to ensure partnership working on community safety issues and to provide ‘an operational roadmap’ for delivery.1 While partnership working was effective, the Framework lacked analysis of key community safety issues and contained no action plan or objectives for delivery. Knowledge of the Framework was minimal among criminal justice partners, and there was no evidence of the use of the Framework to support priority setting or to assist with delivery. It is recommended that the Department of Justice develop and publicly consult on a new community safety vision, strategy and action plan for delivery. The Community Safety Framework provided for a multi-agency governance model, however the Community Safety Board, recently renamed the Community Safety Network, did not have a governance role. A review of the Community Safety Board had identified several areas of improvement and progress was underway in the identification of shared priorities and a forward workplan. This work should continue, however the effective operation of the Community Safety Network should remain under review. The community safety arena in Northern Ireland is a crowded space. Knowledge of existing community safety structures was fragmented; greater awareness was needed to avoid duplication and to maximise the impact of the Community Safety Network. It is recommended that a mapping exercise of the existing strategic and operational community safety fora in Northern Ireland is conducted. 

Belfast: Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland’s (CJI’s), 2024, 105 pg.

By Sean E. Goodison,  and Connor Brooks

In 2020, 57% of local police departments almost always or always authorized oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray or foam, and 53% almost always or always authorized conducted energy devices, such as Tasers and stun guns (figure 1). Figure 1 displays the authorization of less-lethal equipment and techniques in 2020. Less-lethal equipment and techniques are weapons and tactics that are not intended to cause death or serious injury. Among less-lethal techniques, 73% of local police departments almost always or always authorized open-hand techniques and another 25% authorized them in  limited circumstances. Similarly, about 65% of departments almost always or always authorized takedown techniques and another 31% authorized them under limited circumstances. Conversely, more than half (59%) of local police departments never authorized vascular restraints or carotid holds. About 69% of local police departments never authorized respiratory neck restraints, while 29% did so under limited circumstances and 1% almost always or always authorized them.  This report uses selected variables from the 2020 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) data collection, conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), to describe equipment, policies, and procedures in local police departments by population served. Additionally, this report describes the percentage of officers who work in departments with said equipment, policies, and procedures. Local police departments include general-purpose law enforcement agencies such as municipal, county, and regional police departments, but exclude other types of general-purpose law enforcement agencies, such as sheriffs’ offices and primary state and highway patrol agencies. For information on personnel in local police departments, see Local Police Departments Personnel, 2020 (NCJ 305187, BJS, November 2022). Findings in this report are primarily based on the 2020 LEMAS survey. Conducted periodically since 1987, the LEMAS survey collects data on a range of topics from a nationally representative sample of general-purpose state and local law enforcement agencies. (See Methodology in Local Police Departments Personnel, 2020 (NCJ 305187, BJS, November 2022).)     

 U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics ,2023. 36p.