Northern Ireland: CFWIJ Welcomes The Court Decision Over A Complaint Filed By Patricia Devlin
Location: Northern Ireland
Date: September 11, 2021
A police ombudsman upheld a complaint filed by prominent crime reporter Patricia Devlin. The journalist had initiated the case against the Police Service of Northern Ireland for its failure to investigate the online threat against her baby. The police ombudsman concluded the case in Patricia's favour. She said the threat made against the journalist was repulsive and police missed the opportunity to apprehend the suspect. The CFWIJ welcomes the court decision and hopes this will set a new precedent for police to properly investigate the matters that concern women journalists and press freedom.
A year ago Patricia received a direct online sexual threat against her toddler in her Facebook account. She reached out to the PSNI to investigate the tormenting threat but they failed to comply. Seeking justice for herself, Patricia filed a case to Police ombudsman, Marie Anderson. The complaint was upheld by the court with recommendation that the involved police officer needs to be disciplined. PSNI accepted its failure and implemented the needful measure to improve officer's performance.
Patricia shared she hopes the findings would help anyone who is reporting threats over social media, particularly journalists. She said no one should seek legal advice on their own when they go to PSNI. "You are going to the people who are there to protect you and carry out appropriate investigation," she stated.
Patrick Corrigan, Program Director for Amnesty International noted the threats against Patricia were extremely abhorrent and were part of a constant pattern of intimidation against journalists in Northern Ireland. He urged that it is the police's responsibility to ensure there is no impunity for those who threaten the freedom of press.
While speaking to CFWIJ, Patricia shared, "The Police Ombudsman’s findings today prove what I believed all along, that the Police Service of Northern Ireland not only failed me but also my newborn son who was targeted simply because of my job. Almost two years on, the criminal who threatened to sexually attack my child has still not been prosecuted. It is not clear yet if the missed evidential opportunities identified by the Ombudsman’s office will impact on the possibility of the suspect being brought before the courts." She said, "I welcome the findings and the recommendations now put forward to the PSNI. Unfortunately those findings and recommendations do nothing to take away from the distress myself and family have had to endure over the last two years. There has long been a history of impunity in investigations into crimes against journalists in Northern Ireland, including those who have been murdered. It is deeply disappointing that that impunity still exists.”
The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes the decision by the police ombudsman against Patricia's complaint. We hope this shall help police officials implement necessary measures and ensure proper investigation of any sort of threats that concern journalists. We have created a detailed timeline compiling all the attacks against her over a period of time. The CFWIJ stands in solidarity with Patricia and commends her courage in the face of extreme threats.
The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.
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