Pathways and Outcomes: A review of what administrative data in NI can tell us about the prevalence and prevention of paramilitary and serious youth violence.
Dr Colm Walsh
The Fresh Start agreement of November 2015 set out the Executive’s commitment to tackling paramilitary activity and associated criminality. It set up an independent three-person panel – the Fresh Start Panel – to make recommendations on the disbandment of paramilitary groups. Its report was published in June 2016. The Executive responded to the Panel’s report with the Executive Action Plan for Tackling Paramilitarism, Criminality and Organised Crime which was published on 19 July 2016.
It contains 43 commitments in response to the Panel’s recommendations. Within the Executive Action Plan an action plan was included specifically around vulnerable young people known as B13.
This action stated:
“As part of the cross-departmental programme, the Executive Departments with responsibility for Education, the Economy, Health, Communities, Infrastructure and Justice, together with the Executive Office, should all identify the opportunities available to them to both prevent at-risk individuals becoming involved in paramilitary activity and measurably address the underlying issues that put some young people at a higher risk of becoming involved.”
In seeking to identify and measurably address the underlying causes of serious violence and paramilitarism the aims of this paper are to:
- Map the administrative data collected in NI and outline what this can tell us about prevalence and risks of serious violence and opportunities for interrupting those patterns
- Highlight the gaps that currently exist in being able to respond to the needs of those most at risk in an evidence based and data-driven way
- Identify opportunities for the programme to add both strategic and operational value to efforts that are already being undertaken
To download this report, please click on the link below.