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Punishing Disorder - Sentencing of Public Order Offences in Northern Ireland - 1st June
Through the spring and summer of 2005 there were numerous outbreaks of public disorder in Northern Ireland, including:
- Clashes between supporters of Glentoran and Linfield football clubs at the Oval football ground in April.
- Clashes between Loyalists and Nationalists in North Belfast following the final games of the Scottish football season in May.
- An attack on marchers and supporters at a Tour of the North parade in June.
- Attacks on the police by Nationalist youths at the Ardoyne on the Twelfth of July.
- Attacks by Loyalists on the police following searches of the Shankill area in August and severe rioting in West Belfast following the re-routed Whiterock Orange Order parade in September.
On eaxh of these occasions the press reported the violence, but also acknowledged any cases where people arrested and charged with public order offences. The media also frequently reported subsequent appearances in court by those charged in the days following the disorder. However, in general, such reports only note that an individual had been charged with a particular offence and, depending on the seriousness of the charge, is due to appear in court, is bailed to appear at a later date or is remanded in custody for a subsequent court appearance. Only rarely do the media report on the eventual outcomes of such cases. In fact attention is rarely paid to the sentences that are handed down by the courts for those convicted of public order offences.
This paper considers a neglected area of public order management, the sentencing of those convicted of serious public order offences and offers some suggestions as to why sentencing levels for such offences are substantially lower in Northern Ireland than they are in England and Wales. The paper is in four sections. The first provides some background on public disorder in Northern Ireland and on legal frameworks for prosecuting offenders. The second section analyses the levels of sentences handed down to people convicted of serious order offences in Northern Ireland between 1995 and 2003. The third section offers a comparative element by reviewing the sentences imposed on people convicted of involvement in two recent outbreaks of serious public disorder in England and Wales, the disturbances in Bradford in July 2001 and in Wrexham in June 2003, and compares them with the prosecutions for disorder at Drumcree in July 2002 and in North Belfast between 2002 and 2003. The final section of the paper addresses some issues related to the different responses by the courts in England and Wales and those in Northern Ireland.
The research paper is available in pdf format on the reports section of the website.
Contact: Neil Jarman
Contact Number: 028 9074 2682
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