https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3e40lv05peo

Proposed changes to terrorism laws could give police in Northern Ireland additional powers to remove paramilitary flags.

At a policing board meeting last week, Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said he has been engaging with the government's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation Jonathan Hall KC about "additional legislation".

Justice Minister Naomi Long said the fact that "public displays of support for illegal organisations remain in place, unchallenged, enhances the hold these organisations have over communities".

Currently, the PSNI can only remove flags if they are collecting evidence for a prosecution case.

Speaking on BBC News NI's Good Morning Ulster, Mr Hall said the current law also allows police to prosecute anyone who has erected a paramilitary flag.

"Police feel unable to remove [the flags] because they say, 'we're never going to be able to prosecute anyone so how can we seize them?'" he said.

There is now a bill going through Parliament which will allow police to seize flags "even if they're never going to be able to prosecute someone or use them as evidence", Mr Hall said.

"So that's the key change.

"I'm trying to help the authorities use their powers and not feel they can't use their powers when these flags are hanging up and they've got no idea who did it."
Jon Boutcher in police uniform. He wears glasses and has grey hair.Image source, PA Media
Image caption,

PSNI chief constable Jon Boutcher has asked for "additional legislation"
Give police 'confidence to act'

The decision of which flags to take down is the "million dollar question", Mr Hall added.

"The way police and terrorism powers work is you just have to trust the authorities to use those powers wisely… I'm sure that sometimes the police will say, 'if we do this it's going to cause massive disorder so either we don't want to do it at all or we don't want to do it now'."

When the bill passes, Mr Hall said it will mean police can "go and seize a flag and no one will be able to say they can't do that".

"That will give them the confidence to act. I hope very much they do act."

He said if police feel they need "further powers", for example in relation to murals, he will discuss this with them.
'Stop laying claim to neighbourhoods'

Long said that if "so-called paramilitary and terrorist groups are truly committed to moving away from violence", they should "stop laying claim to neighbourhoods".

"If they will not do so voluntarily, then it is right that they should be removed by the appropriate authorities."

She added that while the PSNI has "a key role to play in upholding and enforcing the law", all statutory partners should "take seriously their responsibilities to act".

A spokesperson for the PSNI said that where an offence is identified they retain "operational discretion as to what action to take in terms of removal".

This includes alerting or advising land and property owners of the material and requesting its removal by them.

"This is particularly relevant where there is no necessity and in some cases express statutory power to seize material as evidence," the spokesperson said.

by UnnaturalStride

16 comments

  1. Probably means nothing as they won’t want to be attacked by those who worshop these things.

  2. >”Police feel unable to remove [the flags] because they say, ‘we’re never going to be able to prosecute anyone so how can we seize them?'”

    Did you try checking for DNA?

    Or checking what the group of masked men* on ladders outside your training facility are doing?

    *they probably didn’t bother covering their faces

  3. The minority who put up paramilitary flags are scum. Harming their own community. Anything that can be done to stop these flags from being put up, should be done.

  4. No complaint as long as its applied equally to all sides at all times.

  8. Just make the lamps flicker when a flag is stuck on them. It will drive residents mad.

  9. a good start, but strict paramilitary flags are only a small part of the flag problem here. i can’t see a world where other deliberately inflammatory flags can be captured by this legislation (para regiment flags, Israel etc). banning particular flags will just mean that loyalists / dissidents will get cuter with dog whistles and double down on flying even more “allowed” flags. flag erection on public infrastructure should have to go through some sort of approval and any flags not approved should be removed, regardless of whether they’re paramilitary related or not

  10. A back bone and institutional culture change would help too.

  11. The decision of which flags to take down is the “million dollar question”, Mr Hall added.

    Take them all down, on both sides. There’s no reason for any paramilitary group to exsist

  12. Finally some progress. I would ban all flags from going up as they’re always contentious and an eyesore.

  13. When you tell people not to do something it usually makes them do it twice as much. To stop flegs really needs to come from community and that will take time. IMO.

  16. Very few people will be displaying paramilitary flags

    ……

    People flying “historically accurate military” flags?

    Well…that’s something else.

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