§ Ms ShipleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on cross-border policing, with particular reference to child abusers. [43691]
§ Jane KennedyThe operational CARE units within the PSNI liaise closely with their counterparts in the Sexual Offences Unit in Dublin and with the various Garda Commanders along the border. The risks posed by sex offenders, when being assessed by the Multi-Agency Sex Offender Risk Management Groups in Northern Ireland, take cognisance of those who have moved from the Republic of Ireland into the NI jurisdiction and indeed invite representation both from the Probation in NI and the Garda. The Intelligence Bureau, PSNI, is working on protocols for information sharing on a variety of subjects including child sex offenders and child abusers.
Last year the PSNI organised a conference in Belfast on the subject of cross-border information and intelligence sharing about sex offenders and child abusers. The conference was attended by representatives of the Department of Justice in the ROI, the Scottish Prison Service, the NI Prison Service, PSNI, and the NIO. The conference provided an opportunity for networking that has continued post conference.