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BBC
6 Feb 2012
Justice Minister David Ford has announced his intention to introduce fixed time limits to criminal cases.
He said the statutory time limits, recommended by Dr Michael Maguire, chief inspector of the Criminal Justice Inspection (CJI), would result in penalties if not met.
Mr Ford said he intended to apply time limits to the Youth Court “within the lifetime of this assembly”.
He said he would consider time limits for adult cases in the future.
Mr Ford said his initial focus was on young people, because delays in their cases could damage a young person’s chances of rehabilitation.
He said any proposals would be the subject of a consultation and he was mindful of concerns that time limits should not be applied to the most serious charges.
Justice committee chair Paul Givan of the DUP said it was “an indictment on justice agencies that the introduction of statutory time limits are necessary”.
DUP MLA Jim Wells said “some of us are quite uneasy about this proposal”.
He said he was concerned about exceeding the time limit and feared it could mean people “could get off scot-free”.
He proposed that barristers and solicitors should lose a significant amount of their fee if cases were not brought to court in time.
The TUV’s Jim Allister was also critical, claiming the proposal was “wholly in the past”.
The SDLP’s Conall McDevitt said that he welcomed Mr Ford’s proposals but described them as a total U-turn.
Earlier this month, it emerged that the speed at which some criminal cases in Northern Ireland are completed had slowed since a highly critical report in June 2010.
That was the finding of a follow-up report published by CJI.
It said that, on average, legal cases in Northern Ireland take twice as long as those in England or Wales to pass through the courts.
It can take seven-and-a-half times as long in some youth courts.
BBC
6 Feb 2012
A 41-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder after a police officer was stabbed.
He will appear at Lisburn magistrate’s court on Monday morning.
Other police officers at the scene came under attack from petrol bombs and bricks.
The officer suffered injuries to his head and face in the attack in the Kilwilkie estate in Lurgan.
The police officer was responding to a report about a domestic incident when he was slashed with a knife. He suffered serious injuries to the back of his head.
He is being treated in hospital where his condition is described as stable.
It is believed the man had locked himself into a house with two young children and when the police tried to get inside, the officer was attacked with a knife.
Meanwhile, other police officers at the scene came under attack from petrol bombs and bricks.
Policing Board chair Brian Rea condemned the violence.
“Disturbingly other officers who remained in the area after the incident occurred were attacked with petrol bombs, bricks and bottles,” he said.
“This type of behaviour is totally unacceptable and I strongly condemn those who took part in this violence.”
Supt Jason Murphy said he had “nothing but praise” for the officers.
“Their main priority was to ensure the safety of all those involved, particularly the two young children in the house,” he said.
“These are the officers who are keeping our community safe.
“It was more than disappointing to see those officers come under attack.”
Sinn Fein MLA John O’Dowd described the incident as a “difficult situation” and said his thoughts were with the injured police officer and the young children involved.
“The police were there assisting the community and if it wasn’t for the police being there, we could be dealing with a much more terrible situation than we even are at this time,” he said.
“It’s up to the individuals to explain why they thought attacking the police who were serving the community was justifiable, because I can assure you, the vast majority of the people in Kilwilkie and I do not think it was justifiable.”
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