To ask the Minister of Justice, regarding drug-related activity and persistent anti-social behaviour in residential communities, to detail (i) any assessment her Department has made of the relationship between drug-related activity and persistent anti-social behaviour; (ii) how any assessment can inform community safety policy; and (iii) any specific interventions being developed to address repeated drug-related anti-social behaviour in residential communities.

Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) can have a significant impact on communities and as research such as the Public Health Authority (PHA) and Executive Programme on Paramilitarism and Organised Crime (EPPOC) Drug Related Intimidation Report of October 2025 make clear – there are links between ASB and drug-related activity.

Responses to a joint DoJ and Department for Communities (DfC) public consultation on ASB legislation were published in April 2025 and suggested a need for legislative reform.

As was detailed in the consultation report further work has been, and will be, required with respect to any potential amendments to ASB legislation. Initially this was taken forward by an ASB Working Group comprising of statutory partners together with representatives from the community and voluntary sectors. My officials continue to consider all the issues raised throughout this exercise and the recommendations of the working group to inform the final direction of the ASBO. The latest stage in this process is the development of Equality Impact Assessments (EQIAs) on ASB and drinking in public, with a view to bringing forward legislation in the next Assembly mandate, subject to Executive and Assembly approval.

Whilst drug-related ASB should always be reported directly to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), at a local level, Policing and Community Safety Partnerships (PCSPs), funded by my Department and the Northern Ireland Policing Board, play a key role in the Department’s operational response to community safety and ASB across all communities in Northern Ireland. PCSPs liaise with local communities and other key partners, including local statutory bodies/agencies and the voluntary and community sector, to develop appropriate actions to deal with, and reduce, the impact of ASB.

PCSPs have agreed local priorities for 2026/27 that include, for example, reducing crime and its impact on communities, with a particular focus on drugs, alcohol and addictions, and youth engagement initiatives; Derry and Strabane PCSP, for example, funds drug education workshops as part of their consensual grant aid which is delivered via local communities. PCSPs also promote the RAPID (Remove All Prescription and Illegal Drugs) bins in partnership with PHA, PSNI and PCSP stakeholders.