Derry police chief Darrin Jones says stop and search terror powers are vital and only used to protect community

He was responding to criticism of the use of the Terrorism Act 2000 and Justice & Security (NI) Act 2007.

On Tuesday the ‘Journal’ reported how from October 2018 to November 2020 there were 2,245 instances of people being searched in Derry and Strabane using these powers.

Chief Superintendent Jones said: “We use stop and search powers only when necessary to help protect communities throughout NI. These powers are vital in helping us to prevent, detect and investigate crime.

“We recognise that the use of these powers is a sensitive issue for our communities. I can assure the public, we continually review our practices and training, and have processes in place to ensure that stop and search is used effectively and proportionately. We have a number of governance groups to ensure police powers, including stop and search, are being used fairly and effectively. Following a number of recommendations to the Police Service in terms of the community monitoring of stop and search activity, a working group has progressed significant research with a view to establishing options for implementation.

“These options, which are informed by a complex data protection impact assessment and have been prepared in consultation with the information Commissioner’s Office, are due to be discussed during March at the PSNI’s Policing Powers Development Group. The Policing Board and the Independent Reviewer of Justice and Security Powers have been regularly updated on progress.”