Northern Ireland PACE codes change from 1 July 2026

On paper, this looks like dry delegated legislation. In real life, it is the rulebook for some of the most serious moments in public life: being stopped in the street, being searched at home, being arrested, being interviewed, or waiting in custody for a solicitor or family member to be told where you are. From 1 July 2026, Northern Ireland’s revised PACE codes replace the older versions and add a new Code I for people detained under the National Security Act 2023. The Department of Justice has described the codes as guidance on police powers and safeguards for people under investigation or in custody. (justice-ni.gov.uk) If you are new to this subject, PACE stands for the Police and Criminal Evidence framework. The codes do not usually create the police power itself, but they do tell officers how that power should be used and what protections should sit around it. That is why these documents matter well beyond police stations and courtrooms. (justice-ni.gov.uk)

The Department of Justice says the last major review of Northern Ireland’s PACE codes was in 2015. In its consultation, it explained that this refresh was needed because the law underneath the codes had changed, mainly through the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, and the National Security Act 2023. The Department also says the Northern Ireland codes broadly mirror the PACE system in England and Wales. (justice-ni.gov.uk) That may sound technical, but it has direct consequences for ordinary people. When the codes are rewritten, it can change what an officer must tell you, when an appropriate adult should be called, how an interview must be recorded, and what support must be offered if someone is young, vulnerable, or does not speak English well enough to follow what is happening. (justice-ni.gov.uk)

Code A, on stop and search, is one of the clearest examples. The revised draft says an officer must have formed a genuine suspicion and that the suspicion must be reasonable, based on facts, information or intelligence. It also says a description of the person to be searched cannot rely on protected characteristics such as race or religion, and that the decision to stop and search a child must be in the child’s best interests. The code also makes plain that evidence from a search may be challenged if the rules were not followed. (justice-ni.gov.uk) **What this means for you:** if you are stopped, the key question is not simply whether the police want to search you. The officer should be able to explain what object they suspect they will find and why that suspicion exists. That does not settle every dispute about fairness, but it does give the public a clearer standard to test. Code B also updates the rules on searches of premises and seizure of property by adding National Security Act powers and extra protection for confidential journalistic material taken in an urgent premises search, which would need judicial authorisation if police wanted to keep it for a terrorism investigation. (justice-ni.gov.uk)

Code C covers detention, treatment and questioning, and this is where many everyday custody changes sit. The Department’s summary says Code C now makes clearer that people detained under section 27 of the National Security Act 2023 or under Schedule 3 to the 2019 Act are dealt with under separate codes rather than ordinary PACE custody rules. For everyone else in police detention, the revised code expands the use of live-link interpreting, strengthens the rules around voluntary interviews, and updates the notice of rights and entitlements. (justice-ni.gov.uk) The welfare changes are especially worth your attention. The revised code adds an audio version of the notice of rights, requires detainees to be given a chance to speak in private to custody staff about personal needs, and says adult female detainees must be asked privately at the earliest opportunity whether they need menstrual products. It also updates the role of the appropriate adult, says legal advice for a juvenile or vulnerable detainee should not be delayed while waiting for that adult to arrive, and stresses dignity, sensitivity and vulnerability when clothing is removed or a strip search is considered. (justice-ni.gov.uk) **What this means in custody:** a "voluntary interview" is not meant to feel like an informal chat that carries no risk. The code says suspects should be told about the allegation and their right to free legal advice before agreeing to be interviewed, and it also adds guidance on establishing gender for searches and on meeting the needs of transgender people in custody. (justice-ni.gov.uk)

Codes D, E and F are about identification and interview records, which means they go straight to the question of evidence. Code D updates identification procedures, clarifies when fingerprints can be taken without consent if police do not know a suspect’s name, and refreshes the rules for video identification, historic images and witness viewing of CCTV. In national security cases, it also allows officers to withhold their names and use an identification number instead. (justice-ni.gov.uk) Codes E and F then tighten the record of what happens in interview. The Department’s papers describe a revised system aimed at clearer and more consistent audio and audio-visual recording, with safeguards for both suspects and police. Audio recording is expected where a device is available and usable, while a written record instead is more limited and tightly defined. For some voluntary interviews away from a police station, the annex to Code E points to minor offences such as possession of cannabis or khat and certain low-value retail theft or criminal damage cases. (justice-ni.gov.uk)

Code H deals with terrorism detention, and the changes here are not small drafting fixes. According to the Department of Justice consultation, a person detained under terrorism powers must on first detention be told about the right to have a named person informed and the right to consult a solicitor. The revisions also reflect the rule that the detention clock can pause if the detainee is admitted to hospital, and they explain a newer urgent arrest power for certain terrorist offenders on licence, with release required if recall is refused or, in Northern Ireland cases, if no recall decision has been made within 12 hours of arrest. (justice-ni.gov.uk) New Code I is the biggest headline change. It governs detention, treatment and questioning under section 27 and Schedule 6 to the National Security Act 2023, which the Department says is for people reasonably suspected of involvement in foreign power threat activity. The code says detainees may ask for one named person to be informed, may consult a solicitor, and must have interviews video recorded with sound. It also sets out review and court procedures for further detention, including warrants that can extend detention beyond 14 days. (justice-ni.gov.uk)

For readers, the safest way to think about these codes is as the everyday operating manual behind a police encounter. They are not the whole of the law, but they shape what should happen when you are stopped, searched, arrested, interviewed or held in a cell. They also matter afterwards: the codes themselves say failures can affect fairness, and some evidence can be challenged when the rules are not followed. (justice-ni.gov.uk) There is one more small but telling change in tone. The Department’s documents say the codes should be readily available in police stations not only to officers and detainees, but also to appropriate adults, solicitors and members of the public. That is a useful reminder that police procedure is not supposed to be hidden from the people it affects. From 1 July 2026, these revised codes will shape how police power is explained, recorded and checked in Northern Ireland. (justice-ni.gov.uk)