Chief police officers of the PSNI have consistently outlined that the threat of terrorism, particularly from dissident republicans remains ‘severe’ across the region. This being the case, it may be expected that tools used by the PSNI to tackle terrorism such as section 41 of the Terrorism Act or the Justice and Security Act, may have resulted in a spike in arrests and charges in areas all across NI.
However, this is not entirely the case – indeed in areas that have been subject to high profile anti-terrorism or paramilitary-linked investigations in recent times such as areas of North Down that have been searched by police investigating UDA-linked activity, have had less than five people charged under the Terrorism Act since 2014, BtP can reveal.
Following a detailed request under Freedom of Information legislation, the PSNI have told us that under section 41 of the Terrorism Act – which allows police to arrest without a warrant someone they believe to be a terrorist – 835 arrests have been made, yet only 101 charges have been brought arising from them, or 12%. This means that 734 arrests under terror laws have resulted in no charges being brought by the PSNI.
The information, broken down by local council area, reveals that from 2014-15, there have been 23 instances where zero charges have been brought under the legislation. In the Derry and Strabane area, 2015-16 saw 47 arrests made under terrorism laws with no charges brought. In that same period, a bomb was found in the Currynierin area of Derry, a bomb exploded outside probation offices, a man was shot in the Cecilia’s Walk area, community safety wardens were issued threats believed to be from dissident republicans and the Everglades hotel was firebombed. A viable bomb was also discovered in the Ballycolman estate in Strabane.
Between 2016 and 2018, only three arrests took place in the Fermanagh and Omagh area, with zero charges being brought in that period. Between 2018-19 only one arrest was made, with no charges brought, yet months later a bomb exploded in Wattlebridge.
In Belfast, 7 charged were made arising from 78 arrests in 2017-18. The Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon area is another eyebrow raiser, with only 7 charges have been brought arising from 44 arrests since 2014-15. This is interesting given the focus on Lurgan as another hotbed of dissident republican activity.
In North Down where it is widely suggested loyalist paramilitary groups remain active, less than 15 arrests under terror laws have taken place in 2014 – with only 4 charges brought.
As part of our initial request, we also sought the same figures for the Justice and Security Act, but the PSNI withheld this data on national security grounds. This information has to be put in the context of PSNI resources – it has received and continues to receive millions of pounds in ‘security funding’ and an upgrade in support from the Security Service and the National Crime Agency in the form of the paramilitary taskforce, which begs the question all the more – what is going on?
Arrests -v- charges
Belfast City: 16%
Derry City and Strabane: 3.67%
Lisburn and Castlereagh: 8.3%
Ards and North Down: 30.77%
Newry, Mourne and Down: 44.83%
Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon: 15.9%
Mid Ulster: 20%
Fermanagh and Omagh: 33%
Causeway, Coast and Glens: 3.92%
Mid and East Antrim: 7.7%
Antrim and Newtownabbey: 4.35%
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