Devolution of justice powers 'can help crime fight'

The devolution of policing and justice powers from Westminster to Stormont could help combat crime, a watchdog monitoring paramilitary violence said today.

The latest report from the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) confirmed the Provisional IRA poses no threat, but highlighted the activities of dissident republicans and the failure of loyalists to decommission weapons.

And with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) resisting Sinn Féin demands for the devolution of policing powers, the IMC warned that dissidents were capitalising on the current tension around the issue.

The report said dissident republican groups opposed to the peace process represented a continuing danger, that they were attempting to develop their organisations and were bent on killing police officers.

But the North's Secretary of State Shaun Woodward said the latest IMC report showed progress was being made in removing paramilitary threats and creating a more normal society.

“That process would be greatly enhanced by the devolution of policing and justice powers,” he said.

“The IMC make the point that the devolution of policing and justice would bring important benefits to Northern Ireland not least in allowing closer integration of law enforcement with other domestic policy.

“This underlines the fact that the devolution of policing and justice is not some abstract concept but will have a real and positive impact on people’s lives and the problems they face on a daily basis.

“The report also makes reference to the potential for dissident groups to exploit uncertainty on this issue and try to argue that politics is not winning in Northern Ireland when the reality is very different.”

The 2006 St Andrews Agreement that paved the way for the creation of power-sharing government between the DUP and Sinn Féin envisaged that the transfer of justice powers would have taken place by now.

But the DUP said it is not bound by what was a “target date” for devolution and will only move on the sensitive issue when it feels the unionist community is ready.

The IMC report, placed before parliament today, said dissident republican groups are focused on attempts to kill police officers and had already launched a series of bomb and gun attacks that could have easily claimed lives.

“In the past few months RIRA (Real IRA) and CIRA (Continuity IRA) have both been more active at the same time,” said the report.

“One possible reason for this may be a perception that the absence of progress on the devolution of justice and policing has created a political vacuum, or may have caused disaffection among republican supporters, which the dissidents think that they are able to exploit.”

The IMC report added: “The devolution of justice and policing has yet to be achieved but we think it is now timely to look ahead to when that happens. It will provide two important opportunities.

“First, it will facilitate the closer integration of law enforcement with other domestic policy.

“Second, it will enable the Executive and Assembly to ensure that the functioning of the criminal justice system is fully aligned to the new circumstances.

“Behind both these issues lies the concept of an overarching law enforcement strategy tailored to the needs of a normalised Northern Ireland.”