Justice, Policing and Defence.
We seek to see a Justice system that is not just fairer but one that also has an increased focus on prevention and on rehabilitation. It is our aim to address the causes of crime, accepting that law enforcement has failed to address a number of wider problems within our society. We wish to set first time offenders and those who committed minor offences on the path to rehabilitation, while supporting victims of serious or violent crimes to achieve the justice they deserve. We support substantive reforms to the criminal justice system to deliver faster, fairer justice with increased accountability. This is best achieved by introducing clear timelines for bringing a case to court and increasing communication between victims, the PSNI and the Public Prosecution Service.
Our vision is of a safe, shared society that protects people from crime, meets the needs of victims and works to rehabilitate those who fall into a cycle of criminal behaviour.
There is also a continuing and urgent need to comprehensively and ethically address the legacy of the Past and the needs of victims and survivors. Successive British Governments have been clear they will seek to protect their wider state interests in relation to addressing the past and in multiple ways, they will resist accountability. SDLP Youth will continue to campaign, with the SDLP, for victims and the truth.
Our Criminal Justice Reform Policies.
SDLP Youth is campaigning for:
the increase of age for criminal responsibility in Northern Ireland from 10 to 16, with a mechanism to move exceptional cases into criminal courts.
sentencing to be reformed to provide those who committed Class-C offences and below to be punished through community service. This would be carried out under a suspended sentence, meaning those who reoffended during their sentence would be sentenced to prison.
a reform of the trial system, as outlined in the Starmer report, to obligate the proceeding judge to set a time scale of the trial before the trial commences, outlining in advance how long they believe it should take for the trial to progress, placing pressure on barristers and solicitors to operate more efficiently.
the return of full legal aid in order to ensure that whether or not someone receives justice is never based on their socio-economic class.
a review into the minimum sentences of violent class-A crimes with the intention of identifying more appropriate minimal levels of sentencing.
the law in the North of Ireland to be amended to clearly enshrine the principle, per the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, that a child should be held in pre-trial detention only as a measure of last resort and a child should never be detained on the basis that there is no suitable accommodation if released on bail.
the repeal of the 1998 Order, and calls for the introduction of legislation to remove the legal basis for the imprisonment of children alongside adults.
the repeal the defence of reasonable chastisement of a child, for the promotion of positive and non-violent forms of discipline, and for the recognition of respect for children’s equal right to human dignity and physical integrity.
Our Policing Policies.
SDLP Youth is campaigning for:
greater support for community policing, including sensitivity training, especially with regards to minorities, members of the LGBT + and the elderly.
the promotion of awareness of LGBT+ issues within the PSNI and other criminal justice agencies.
diversity training to be provided to all officers, so they have a better understanding of LGBT+ issues in our society, and how to deal with homophobic, biphobic and transphobic hate crimes with a high level of sensitivity.
clear disciplinary procedures in place for officers who display discriminatory attitudes towards members of the LGBT+ community.
a new code of conduct for police enquiries that will demand that all criminal allegations and evidence acquired in said investigations be recorded and maintained within a database, subject to the Data Protection Act, for review should the case reopen.
for the adoption of the day-fine system in Northern Ireland.
Our Victims Policies.
SDLP Youth is campaigning for:
implementation of the recommendations of the Starmer Report on sexual abuse.
improved provisions for tackling domestic violence and support for the victims of domestic abuse, in line with the amendments proposed by Dolores Kelly in 2015.
the creation of a Victims Oversight Committee to observe sentencing and propose recommendations for government reform.
victim shielding, in cases of rape, to be implemented in the island of Ireland.
the introduction of a victims’ pension.
the creation of a new role of Victims’ Commissioner, whose job will be to consistently review victim satisfaction with regards to court disposal, early releases and restorative justice, with the ability to recommend changes to the Department of Justice.
the Irish Minister for Justice and Equality to introduce legislation to make voyeurism a criminal offence in the Republic.
new responsibilities to be placed on large social media to root out cyber-bullying, and will be able to be held legally responsible for any unfortunate incidents should it be found that they failed to act adequately to resolve the issue.
the banning of sharing explicit imaging on the internet without the expressed consent of the individuals displayed (as has already been achieved in England and Wales under section 33 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015).
the NI Executive to, as a priority, allocate financial support for support organisations for voctims of domestic abuse and for the Executive to gender mainstream their COVID-19 response, especially with regards to supporting efforts to prevent gender-based violence and assist victims and survivors.
Our Sex Work Policies.
SDLP Youth is campaigning for:
consensual sex work to be legalised, unionised and regulated to provide greater protection for the workers, in order to protect those in this industry, that are often the victims of violence and exploitation.
Northern Ireland and the whole of the UK to adopt a model similar to the Merseyside and Leeds models of policing against violence targeted at sex work, that involves improved communication between sex workers and police to improve trust, providing counselling for victims and redefining violence against women working in the sex industry as a hate crime.
the repeal of section 15 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (NI) 2015 (the Morrow Amendment) and make improvements to the Act (including looking to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 for inspiration) in order to ensure a better strategy for tackling human trafficking and exploitation.
having long-term co-operative projects, such as harm reduction, counselling and outreach.
offering professional legal advice to sex workers, through the Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA), to assist them through the early legal stages if they have been a victim of violence and exploitation.
Our Road Traffic Policies.
SDLP Youth is campaigning for:
drivers to be required to re-take their driving tests periodically (perhaps at least every 10 years), in order to help prevent drivers from being involved in accidents in the future, and to help ensure that drivers do not break the law of the road.
efforts to be made by the Assembly to lower the cost of provisional driving licenses, which is currently far more expensive than the national average, for the benefit of young people on low incomes or from low-income families.
Our Defence Policies.
SDLP Youth is campaigning for:
the abolition of Trident and for the expenses to be redistributed, primarily to fund education, health and social care services and welfare programmes.
the abolition of all nuclear weapons throughout the world.