Investigation of offences and criminal case prosecution by Departments and other bodies

Organisations inspected

• Benefit Security Division and Child Maintenance Service in the Department for Communities;
• Veterinary Service Animal Health in the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs;
• Tourism NI, the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland; and
• Northern Ireland Trading Standards Service in the Department for the Economy.

Although their cases represented just 1% of all criminal files submitted for prosecution during 2023 -2024, the offences investigated include some of the most serious public safety and fraud-related issues affecting our community.  They range from deaths in the workplace and breaches of animal health and welfare and food production standards to benefit fraud, unfair and improper trading practices that impact consumers and failures to provide financial support for a child or children following the breakdown of a family relationship (child maintenance evasion).

Inspection findings

Dedicated staff

The Inspection found staff working in the inspected organisations to be professional and committed. They produced quality case files and maintained positive relationships with the PSNI, their counterparts in England and Wales and the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland (PPS).  In the case of Tourism NI, they work with a private legal firm to prosecute cases.

Paper-based processes

The Inspection Team found a heavy reliance on paper-based processes and prosecution files that were resource intensive to compile and not environmentally friendly.  A recommendation to implement the use of digital Information Technology and the electronic transfer of prosecution case files has been made in the report.

Strategies and policies

Strategies and policies were in place to inform each organisation’s approach to investigating and prosecuting criminal cases.  Inspectors found that most of the organisations inspected had clear lines of responsibility and strategic direction.  Documents from the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Trading Standards Service were of high-quality and provided detailed information.

Enforcement and engagement

Engagement was identified as an important part of the enforcement process for each organisation. This involved the organisation’s approach to addressing crime and working with individuals and businesses to support the prevention of offending and reoffending.  Some of the organisations had very distinct lines of engagement and providing clarity as to when engagement ended and enforcement action should be taken, such as the monetary limit set by the Benefit Security Division. Others such as the Child Maintenance Service focussed almost all their efforts on engagement with the best interests of the child/children at the centre of their approach.

The organisations inspected would benefit from clearly established lines on when engagement takes place and when enforcement action was necessary.  Improved communication between specific engagement and enforcement teams would also be beneficial.

Collaboration and knowledge sharing

Opportunities where organisations operating in the same small jurisdiction could learn from one another and benefit from the sharing of knowledge, skills and resources with others working in similar criminal justice related roles were identified in the Inspection.

To further build public confidence and inform the community about the vital, high-quality work being undertaken to maintain public safety and the successes being, each organisation should consider how it reports outcomes, both internally to staff and sponsoring Departments, and externally to the public.

CJI’s statutory remit

Since the devolution of policing and criminal justice powers to the locally elected Northern Ireland Assembly in 2010, there have been many changes to Northern Ireland Departments and this inspection confirmed the need to review our statutory remit to ensure it accurately reflects these changes and the bodies we can inspect.

Conclusion

This inspection report includes four recommendations to improve how non-police investigations and prosecutions are managed, both within and across the inspected organisations to create greater cohesion and efficiency.  

A recommendation to review and update our own statutory remit is also included and CJI will work with officials from its sponsoring Department the DoJ to progress this as part of the legislative programme for the next Northern Ireland Assembly mandate.