New statistics published by the Department of Justice show that the majority of the population believes that paramilitary gangs are forcing children into violence and grooming them to sell drugs.
The data, which comes from the publication of new market research insight into the Ending the Harm public awareness campaign by the Executive Programme on Paramilitarism and Organised Crime, shows that the campaign is actively changing perceptions about the harms perpetrated by paramilitary gangs in Northern Ireland, according to the Department.
The current campaign, which highlights issues including child criminal exploitation, grooming, violence extortion of local businesses and violence against women and girls, was launched in October 2024 and utilises a wide range of outdoor advertising spaces, including large-size billboards, smaller poster sites and bus stops.
It has appeared in communities right across Northern Ireland. The campaign is also present on bus advertising, giving us further visibility in geographical areas where there may be a lack of advertising space.
In a recent online omnibus survey of approximately 1,000 people with the sample being representative of the Northern Ireland adult (18+) population, 77 per cent of respondents regarded the campaign as believable, 66 per cent of respondents thought it was impactful and 89 per cent of respondents fully supported what the campaign was saying and trying to do.
The research has highlighted that the majority of respondents agreed with the campaign statements that paramilitary gangs controlled communities with violence, intimidation and drug dealing (67%); Exploited hard-working local businesses (65%); Forced children into violence, stealing their future (63%); Robbed businesses by taking their hard-earned money (61%); Groomed children to force them to sell drugs (59%)
Agreement with the campaign statements was higher with respondents who were already aware of the campaign verses those who were looking at the posters for the first time, helping to validate the importance of this campaign to highlight a range of ‘hidden’ paramilitary harms.
Finally, the Department say that the impact of the campaign on respondents was "both significant and powerful", with the majority in agreement that ‘paramilitaries are just criminals’ (79%), ‘there was no place for paramilitary gangs in Northern Ireland’s future’ (77%), ‘paramilitaries don’t protect you, they intimidate their own communities’ (76%), and they exploit women and children (69%).
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