ACOMSDave

Community Journalist

A benign Ogre – Stop and Search in Northern Ireland

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An ogre can be someone who is frightening or a ‘man’ who eats people.

So why did this come into my mind having just read an article by the BBC on “What are my rights if I’m stopped and searched?”? We as human beings have a tendency to resort to literature characters who are not real to enable us to describe a situation we are currently in or have experienced.

Firstly, I have yet again to take the BBC to task for being England/Wales centric. The article is professionally written and researched, however, to dismiss Scotland and Northern Ireland with the lines:

…The laws in Scotland and Northern Ireland are different, but there are many similarities with those in England and Wales..
shows a total lack of understanding that each of these countries is unique as is its law. I will not endeavour to speak about Scottish law as I do not live there, however, the law in Northern Ireland is most definitely coloured by the 30+ years of the ‘troubles’. This has polarised a lot of the community in terms of accepting the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland).

 

Stop & Search - A benign OgreA crowd - A benign Ogre

Now back to Stop and Search in Northern Ireland, let us do a comparison on stop and search figures:

Stop and Search Comparison

CountryYearPopulationStatistics of people stoppedRatio as per population
England & Wales291856.1m (approx)380,00019 people stopped per every 2810
Northern Ireland20181.88m (approx)28,11628 people stopped per every 2288

So, what are your rights if you are ‘Stopped and Searched’ in Northern Ireland?

According to Northern Ireland Direct, and here I will quoted directly…

Who can stop and search you?

Any police officer can stop and search you. If they are not in uniform they must identify themselves before the search takes place. The stop and search action doesn’t mean you’re under arrest or that you’ve done something wrong.
The reasons police can stop and search you
The police can stop and search you:
• if there has been serious violence or disorder in the area
• if police are looking for a suspect who fits your description
• if police have reasonable grounds to suspect you’re carrying drugs, a weapon or stolen property
• in countering terrorism

What happens in a stop and search?

If you’re stopped and searched:
• you must stay for all of the search
• police must make sure the search time is as short as possible
• the search must take place where you were stopped or nearby, unless moving you would protect your privacy
Before a search, a police officer must tell you the grounds for the search, what they’re looking for, their name (except where the stop and search is to do with terrorism) and the station they’re attached to.
If you’re in a public place, you’ll be asked to remove your coat or jacket and any headgear or gloves worn unless the search is to do with terrorism or when police believe you’re using clothes to hide your identity. They can ask you to empty your pockets and open any baggage to help the search….(https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/stop-and-search)

But there is more to be considered; what personal information am I obliged to give the officer?

According to the Citizenship Foundation, this is what you should think about:

…: I do not have to give my name or address to the police
It Depends. You only have to if the police suspect you have committed (or are about to commit) an arrestable offence.
You don’t have to answer a police officer’s questions, but someone who refuses to give their name and address may be arrested if the police officer reasonably believes they have committed an offence. You have the right not to answer any more questions until you have received legal advice from a solicitor.
In Northern Ireland, a person has an obligation to give their name and address and DOB under certain circumstance, together with the answers to some questions, under section 21 of the Justice and Security Act. Consider

Q: If you’ve not done anything wrong, do you think refusing to say your name makes you look suspicious?
Q: Do you think it’s worth having this right if enforcing it means that you could be suspected of committing an offence…

(https://smartlaw.org.uk/wordpress//content/uploads/woocommerce_uploads/2017/04/Police-powers-teachers-notes-v2.pdf)

Now consider in April 1993 the Editor of upstart (a local gay publication) stated exactly the same thing, but with the addition of reminding people if they are in doubt then give the minimum information you have to ask to see a solicitor – for Northern Ireland at this time this was really relevant for gay men, as various purges were taking place (the latest at that time being in Belvior Park) and people’s lives were being destroyed.

We all have a right to support the police forces in their given legal duty, but remember they like us are human and can make mistakes.

 

External links:

 

 

Rise in homophobic attacks in London, Greater Manchester, South Wales and Northern Ireland, say police

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Republished from
PSNIPolice forces across the UK have reported a rise in the number of homophobic crimes this year – with the biggest increases in London, Greater Manchester, South Wales, and Northern Ireland. Hundreds of lesbian and gay people have been assaulted so far this year. LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender) charities have responded by saying it was “encouraging” that more people were reporting hate crimes, but said many victims felt “silenced” by abuse on the street. Some 19 police forces recorded more attacks which were motivated by a person’s sexuality between January and October 2014, when compared with the whole of last year. In London alone, the Metropolitan Police recorded 1,073 violent homophobic offences between January and October – up 66 from 1,007 last year, a Freedom of Information request by the Press Association uncovered. The overall figure for the capital for 2014 included 315 assaults, and 747 harassment offences – which saw a sharp rise from 693 last year. Greater Manchester Police recorded 278 violent homophobic offences between January and October, up from 231 in 2013; while South Wales Police recorded 162 violent crimes motivated by a person’s sexual orientation between January and October, up from 132 last year. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) revealed that homophobic crimes had increased year on year since 2006/2007. In 2013/2014, 280 incidents were recorded by the force – up from 245 in 2012/2013 and 200 in 2011/2012. This included 133 violent homophobic crimes this year”
There have been over 1000 attacks motivated by the victim’s sexuality in London so far this year
Police forces across the UK have reported a rise in the number of homophobic crimes this year – with the biggest increases in London, Greater Manchester, South Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Hundreds of lesbian and gay people have been assaulted so far this year. LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender) charities have responded by saying it was “encouraging” that more people were reporting hate crimes, but said many victims felt “silenced” by abuse on the street.
Some 19 police forces recorded more attacks which were motivated by a person’s sexuality between January and October 2014, when compared with the whole of last year.
In London alone, the Metropolitan Police recorded 1,073 violent homophobic offences between January and October – up 66 from 1,007 last year, a Freedom of Information request by thePress Association uncovered.
The overall figure for the capital for 2014 included 315 assaults, and 747 harassment offences – which saw a sharp rise from 693 last year.
Greater Manchester Police recorded 278 violent homophobic offences between January and October, up from 231 in 2013; while South Wales Police recorded 162 violent crimes motivated by a person’s sexual orientation between January and October, up from 132 last year.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) revealed that homophobic crimes had increased year on year since 2006/2007. In 2013/2014, 280 incidents were recorded by the force – up from 245 in 2012/2013 and 200 in 2011/2012. This included 133 violent homophobic crimes this year

'The Laramie Project'

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The Matthew Shepard Story

The Matthew Shepard Story


The story of Matthew Shepard
Location and Time:  Thursday 1st August 2012, the Metropolitan Arts Centre theatre; an intimate theatre of approximately 112 seats.
The play was ‘The Laramie Project’ which was written by Moses Kaufmann and members of the Tyectonic Theater Project, but our production was performed and orchestrated by the Dundonald Association of Music and Drama (DAMD) sponsored by the Police Service of N Ireland (PSNI) and The Rainbow Project.
The Laramie Project is a verbatim play about the reaction to the torture and murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998; The Angels during the rallyhe was a young gay man who was robbed, viciously beaten and left tied to a fence to die. Although he was soon found by the police and hospitalized, he soon expired.  Matthew was a student in Laramie, Wyoming and this play is based on a series of interviews conducted with Laramie residents in the aftermath of his murder.  Matthew’s murder focused attention on the lack of hate crime legislation in various states including Wyoming.
DAMD were formed in July 2009 by Melissa Smith.  DAMD’s artistic mission is to engage their community in theatre that makes you think or blink with tears).  ‘If we can inspire, nurture, challenge, amaze, educate or empower artists and audiences b y providing a quality performing arts experience then we retire happily with our bedtime cocoa.’
The stage setting consisted of eight chairs with a ‘goodies’ box beside each containing various individual props, and a stand for the presenter who guided us through the performance.
The performance was riveting, and it indeed did bring this audience member to tears as he remembered the harrowing news items from the time, and how utterly soul destroying the story was as it unfolded, including the trial.  The subsequent theatre production and also the movie release with of the Laramie Project and also the Matthew Shepard Story with Sam Waterston as the father of Matthew kept the story alive and in people minds, and continued to pile pressure on the USA legislature and government and local states.
DAMD’s performance was startling real, the accents were faultless ( at least to my ears), and the minimlist stage setting helped to focus attention on the dialogue, the speakers and the story.
The Laramie Project is often used as a method to teach about prejudice and tolerance in personal, social, and health education and citizenship in schools, and it has also been used in the UK as a General Certificate of Secondary Education text for English literature.  Having just been to an event during Belfast Pride about how our N Ireland Library Service for Schools is currently unable to provide the service needed for LGBT youth, and that a survey of LGBT books in school libraries only returned one item throughout Northern Ireland, it would seem that we need to put on more productions of this play, and especially try to get it seen within our school and college systems.
 
Further links:

  • [button_icon icon=”information” url=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Laramie_Project” blank=”true”]The Laramie Project[/button_icon]
  • [button_icon icon=”information” url=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Laramie_Project_%28film%29″ blank=”true”]The Laramie Project (film)[/button_icon]
  • [button_icon icon=”information” url=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Matthew_Shepard_Story” blank=”true”]The Matthew Shepard Story[/button_icon]
  • [button_icon icon=”camera” url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiKBv29xvS8″ blank=”true”]Youtube: The Matthew Shepard Story [/button_icon]
  • [button_icon icon=”camera” url=”Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1qiTmF0p4A” blank=”true”]The Laramie Project[/button_icon]
  • [button_icon icon=”information” url=”http://www.laramieproject.org/” blank=”true” colour=”green”]The Laramie Project Website & Charity[/button_icon]