The number of people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds stopped by the Police Service of Northern Ireland under antiterrorism laws has increased sharply in recent years, an investigation has revealed.
Ethnic minorities made up more than half (58 per cent) of those stopped under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act in 2020, figures show, despite making up just 3.5 per cent of the North’s population.
While the powers are intended to be used to keep the public safe against threats, a human rights group has warned of its concern that police could be using them to enforce immigration rules.
Although only 119 people were stopped in 2020 due to tough Covid restrictions, 65 of those were from minority backgrounds, according to figures obtained by Belfast-based investigations unit The Detail.
In 2016, just 7 per cent (145) of the 2,082 people stopped were from minority backgrounds.
But over the last few years, the percentage of non-white people stopped by the PSNI has risen dramatically.
People from minority backgrounds made up 18 per cent of people stopped in 2017; 21 per cent in 2018; 37 per cent in 2019, and 58 per cent in 2020.
Schedule 7 is a national security power which allows the PSNI to stop anyone travelling to or from the North’s ports or airports or in the border area.
Belfast-based human rights group the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) told The Detail they are concerned that the anti-terror powers are being used for a “collateral purpose”, namely immigration enforcement.
UK legislation prevents routine immigration controls on journeys in the Common Travel Area (CTA) between the Republic and the UK.
In a 2018 report by Max Hill QC, the previous independent reviewer of the UK’s terrorism legislation, the PSNI said that, of the people they stopped, “some were wanted or of interest to other enforcement agencies such as HMRC or Immigration ... and the person was handed over”.
The Detail asked the PSNI how many people were referred to other agencies. But the force said it could not release the figures under Freedom of Information legislation because it would be too costly to collate the data.
Úna Boyd from the CAJ said Schedule 7 should not be used for any purpose other than antiterrorism.
“We are particularly concerned that the sharp increase in BME people being stopped in NI indicates that these powers are being used for immigration control,” she said.
“Assurances are needed from the PSNI that safeguards are in place to prevent any such abuse of Schedule 7 powers.”
Jonathan Hall QC, the current independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, has said that more data is needed for conclusions to be drawn about the use of Schedule 7 in relation to ethnic minorities.
“The starting point is that Schedule 7 is most likely to be targeted at Northern Ireland-related terrorism. The very low number of stops in 2020 and 2021, reflecting Covid disruptions to travel, means that it is difficult to draw conclusions from the ethnicity categories,” he said.
Schedule 7 powers may be tasked (based on some advance intelligence) or untasked (based purely on the officer’s own assessment of the need to carry out an examination).
In a report last year Mr Hall wrote that the PSNI relies “a great deal on discretion”, or untasked stops, “thus bringing the importance of safeguards against irrational or discriminatory use into sharp relief”.
“Ideally there would be statistics that distinguished within ethnicity categories to see who was examined on the basis of targeting, and who was examined on a discretionary basis,” he said.
On the claim that Schedule 7 powers were being used to enforce immigration, Mr Hall said it seemed “unlikely” due to the procedural burden involved for police.
Latest census figures show people from black or minority ethnic backgrounds make up 3.5% of Northern Ireland’s population.
In a statement, the PSNI said the increase in the percentage of black and minority ethnic people stopped under antiterrorism laws reflects the changing demographic of people coming into Northern Ireland.
“While terrorists continue to use our ports Schedule 7 remains a vital tool to help us prevent, detect and disrupt their activity. Police operate under clear legal and operational guidelines for the use of Schedule 7 and our officers are committed to using these powers in a manner which is lawful, proportionate and does not unlawfully discriminate against anyone”.
“It is difficult to draw firm conclusions from percentage changes when the numbers involved are so low but there has been an increase in the proportion of Schedule 7 examinations of non-white individuals in Northern Ireland.
“We believe this reflects the changing demographic of those entering NI (in line with national trends) as people from different theatres of international conflict come to the UK.”