Statistical data set

Northern Ireland Terrorism Legislation: Annual Statistics 2016/17

The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) today published Statistical Bulletin ‘Northern Ireland Terrorism Legislation: Annual Statistics 2016/17’.

From:
Northern Ireland Office
Published
1 November 2017

This is an Official Statistics publication.

2016-17 Northern Ireland Terrorism Bulletin

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The report details the use in Northern Ireland of powers contained within the Terrorism Act 2000, the Terrorism (Northern Ireland) Act 2006, the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 and the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007 in the financial year 2016/17.

Key Findings

Key statistics during 2016/17:

  • The powers of stop and search under section 47A of the Terrorism Act 2000 were not exercised in Northern Ireland in 2016/17 (Table 1).

  • There were 164 premises searched under warrant by the Police Service of Northern Ireland under section 37, Schedule 5 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (Table 2).

  • As in previous years, there was limited use of powers provided under the Terrorism Act 2006 and the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 during 2016/17 (Tables 3, 21-23). There were eight premises searched under section 28 of the Terrorism Act 2006 (Table 3) and four persons made subject to notification requirements under section 47 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (Table 21).

  • There were 137 persons detained under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and nine applications for an extension of detention, all of which were granted (Table 4).

  • Of the 137 persons detained under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000, 118 (86%) were held for 48 hours or less. Nineteen persons were charged and 118 persons were released (Tables 5-6).

  • Nineteen persons detained under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 were charged with 41 offences including four offences of murder, eight of attempted murder, four explosives offences and eight firearms offences (Table 6 and Table 9).

  • As of 20 June 2017, one of the nineteen persons detained under section 41 and subsequently charged in 2016/17 had been convicted of terrorist related offences (Table 10).

  • Five persons detained under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 were charged with nine offences under the Terrorism Act 2000 including four offences of membership (section 11) (Table 11a). In 2016/17, four persons detained under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 were charged with four offences under the Terrorism Act 2006, all for offences of preparation of terrorist acts (Table 11b).

  • In 2016, there were a total of fifteen persons disposed of by a non-jury trial, fourteen of whom were found guilty of at least one charge (Table 12). A total of nineteen non-jury trial certificates were issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland in 2016 (Table 13).

  • There were eighteen Preliminary Inquiries under section 3 of the Justice and Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2007, eight of which were committed to the Crown Court (Table 14).

  • There were a total of five persons convicted under the Terrorism Act 2000, the Terrorism Act 2006 or the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 during 2016/17 (Table 15).

  • In 2016/17, the power to stop and examine persons travelling at ports and airports under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 was used 3,491 times by police, immigration and designated customs officers in 2016/17. None of these examinations resulted in a detention (Table 16).

  • There were 29 designated cordons under section 33 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (Table 18).

  • Compensation payments (including solicitors’ and loss assessors’ fees and Agency payments), paid under section 38, Schedule 4 of the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007, totalled £19,442 (Table 20).

Notes for Editors

This is an annual publication reporting on key Northern Ireland specific terrorism legislation statistics. Figures are mainly drawn from administrative and operational data sources.

Official Statistics are produced in accordance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs and are produced free from any political interference. They are also subject to restrictions in terms of pre-release access.

Press queries about this publication should be directed to the NIO Press Office on telephone number 02890 527856.

Published 1 November 2017