Thousands of arrest warrants outstanding for years and even decades, new figures show

Justice Minister Naomi Long released the figures following a written query from an SDLP MLA

Thousands of arrest warrants have been outstanding in Northern Ireland for years and even decades, new figures from Stormont show.

Justice Minister Naomi Long released the figures following a written request from the SDLP MLA Cara Hunter.

The figures show that more than a thousand arrest or bench warrants have been outstanding for over 20 years.

The figures, which relate to the situation as of September 9, show that 350 arrest warrants have been outstanding for less than a year and 25 bench warrants.

An arrest warrant authorises police to take someone into custody for a suspected crime, whereas a bench warrant is usually issued by a judge for someone who fails to turn up for court or to comply with a court order.

The figures show that 495 arrest warrants have been outstanding for more than 25 years, along with 14 bench warrants.

Another 655 have been outstanding for at least 20 years, along with 12 bench warrants.

The Minister said the figures have been taken from the “Integrated Court Operations System (ICOS) Arrest/Bench Warrants Report”.

She added: “The information is lifted from the live system and should be treated as management information rather than official statistics.

“An individual may have more than one warrant issued for their arrest. Fine Warrants are not included.”

The news comes just weeks after a convicted murderer who had been on the run from prison was recaptured by police in the Republic of Ireland.

James Meehan, 55, was convicted of the murder of Derry man Jim McFadden in 2009 and had been unlawfully at large after failing to return to HMP Magilligan on December 9.

Gardai confirmed he had been recaptured in early September this year.

It was not the first time he had gone missing from prison. In October 2022, Meehan had been freed and allowed to live at an address in Limavady, however was later found not to been at the address and was charged with being unlawfully at large. He then spent 14 months on the run before being returned to jail after being extradited from the Republic of Ireland.

The Minister said a review would be carried out into the handling of prisoners at risk of absconding.

The figures for outstanding arrest and bench warrants, broken down by the length of time each has been outstanding, are as follows:

• 0-1 Years: 25 bench warrants, 350 arrest warrants
• 1-2 Years: 17 bench warrants, 176 arrest warrants
• 2-3 Years: 8 bench warrants, 197 arrest warrants
• 3-4 Years: 4 bench warrants, 109 arrest warrants
• 4-5 Years: 3 bench warrants, 93 arrest warrants
• 5-10 Years: 25 bench warrants, 360 arrest warrants
• 10-15 Years: 6 bench warrants, 288 arrest warrants
• 15-20 Years: 20 bench warrants, 422 arrest warrants
• 20-25 Years: 12 bench warrants, 655 arrest warrants
• More than 25 Years: 14 bench warrants, 495 arrest warrants