Justice Minister Naomi Long and her Irish counterpart Jim O’Callaghan have agreed a new two-year programme for cross-border criminal justice co-operation, meeting in Armagh days after the publication of an independent review into the Katie Simpson case exposed cross-border safeguarding failures. The ministers approved the 2026-2028 Workplan on 8 May, setting priorities for youth justice, victim support, and forensic science collaboration as the Joint Agency Task Force marks its tenth year of operation.
The meeting, held under the Intergovernmental Agreement on Co-operation on Criminal Justice Matters, took place three days after the release of the Katie Simpson Review. Minister Long specifically raised the report’s findings during the discussions, highlighting cross-border implications given the victim’s connections to Lifford, County Donegal, and the all-island nature of the equestrian sector.
New Workplan Priorities
The 2026-2028 Workplan covers five key areas: Youth Justice, Victim Support, Public Protection, Forensic Science, and Criminal Justice and Social Diversity. These areas are advanced through Project Advisory Groups comprising officials from both jurisdictions, which meet regularly to share best practice and co-ordinate policy.
During the meeting, ministers received updates from each advisory group. The Youth Justice group has focused on the Stable Lives, Safer Streets initiative—a research partnership between Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Limerick examining child criminal exploitation. The Victim Support group has concentrated on aligning Victim and Witness Charters and sharing learning on domestic violence interventions, while the Forensic Science group continues to facilitate information exchange between Forensic Science Northern Ireland and Forensic Science Ireland.
A Decade of the Joint Agency Task Force
The ministers were briefed on the 19th report of the Joint Agency Task Force (JATF), established under the 2015 Fresh Start Agreement. 2026 marks the tenth year of the Task Force reporting to ministers, involving senior officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), An Garda Síochána, HM Revenue and Customs, and the Revenue Commissioners.
According to the Department of Justice, the Task Force co-ordinates strategic and operational actions against cross-border organised crime, with the Criminal Assets Bureau and National Crime Agency also participating in operations targeting rural crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and excise fraud.
Ministers Reaffirm Co-operation Commitments
Speaking after the meeting, Minister Long emphasised the value of the structured co-operation framework:
“I had a very productive meeting with Minister O’Callaghan today – our second Ministerial meeting under the Intergovernmental Agreement on Co-operation on Criminal Justice Matters.
“These meetings are a valuable opportunity to discuss our shared challenges and to reaffirm the importance of continued co-operation between our departments, agencies and policing services.”
Minister O’Callaghan highlighted the practical impact of daily co-operation between police services:
“My meeting today with Minister Long reaffirmed our commitment to working closely together to tackle shared issues. Many of the policy challenges that we are facing in both jurisdictions are similar in nature so the work that we have jointly committed to undertaking today extends across the whole of the criminal justice system and complements the excellent daily cooperation that already exists between An Garda Síochána and the PSNI.
“I would also like to commend the Joint Agency Task Force for its continued work in tackling rural crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, excise fraud and organised immigration crime to ensure that the border is not exploited by criminals, and that communities on both sides of the border are made safer.”
Minister Long added:
“The Task Force has been reporting to ministers for 10 years and it is clear that it continues to play a vital role in identifying and disrupting criminal activity that impacts communities on both sides of the border.”
The Katie Simpson Review Context
The timing of the meeting brought added significance following the publication on 5 May of the Katie Simpson Review, led by Dr Jan Melia. The report found “institutional misogyny” within the PSNI and a catalogue of failures in the investigation of Simpson’s death in August 2020, initially treated as suicide rather than murder by her abuser, Jonathan Creswell.
The review highlighted that Simpson, a 21-year-old showjumper, had been groomed from age 10 by Creswell, who used the equestrian sector as a “hunting ground.” It noted that 37 other victims have since come forward with allegations against Creswell, including children as young as nine, and identified safeguarding failures within the unregulated equestrian sector.
Minister Long’s decision to raise the report at the Armagh meeting signals recognition that the equestrian sector’s all-island nature requires co-ordinated North-South safeguarding responses. The review found that Creswell was able to continue working with children after serving a prison sentence for assault in 2010, exploiting the absence of oversight in the sector.
Questions for Implementation
While the ministers reaffirmed commitments to co-operation, several questions remain about how the new Workplan will address the systemic gaps exposed by the Simpson case:
- How will the 2026-2028 Workplan specifically address the “institutional misogyny” identified in the PSNI, and will the Victim Support Project Advisory Group develop concrete protocols for handling coercive control cases across the border?
- Given the equestrian sector’s all-island operations and the review’s finding that Creswell used it as a “hunting ground,” what specific safeguarding measures will be implemented to regulate activities involving children in this sector?
- The Workplan covers Youth Justice and Public Protection, but does it include dedicated resources to examine how convicted abusers move between jurisdictions to access vulnerable children, as Creswell did?
- With the Task Force celebrating ten years of operation, what metrics will be used to measure the success of the new Workplan in preventing cross-border criminal exploitation, rather than simply reporting on disruptions after they occur?
The ministers noted that their first meeting took place in May 2025, establishing a pattern of annual engagement. As the 2026-2028 Workplan is implemented, scrutiny will focus on whether these high-level commitments translate into the ground-level cultural and procedural changes necessary to prevent future failures like those documented in the Simpson review.