The Ulster Unionist Party and the DUP jointly used a Petition of Concern at Stormont this week to block an amendment to the Justice Bill that would have raised the arrestable age for children to 14.

The mechanism, which requires cross-community support for contested legislation, was deployed against a cross-party proposal supported by Sinn Féin, the Alliance Party and the SDLP.

Mike Burrows, a former PSNI commander in Derry and a UUP representative, told the Assembly that removing police powers to arrest and impose bail conditions on children aged 10 to 13 would leave communities more vulnerable.

He specifically cited long-standing attacks on the Fountain interface in Derry, arguing that police intervention there often relies on the ability to make arrests and set bail terms that restrict contact with victims or attendance at specific events.

DUP MLA Julie Middleton asked whether raising the age of criminal responsibility would remove a deterrent against attacks on residents of a local care home and the Fountain estate.

Burrows responded that interface violence would escalate if police were unable to intervene. He said arrests and bail conditions handed out during parades and other incidents have been crucial in preventing repeat offences.

Sinn Féin MLA Ciara Ferguson accused the unionist parties of seeking to criminalise children and subject them to lifelong stigma. She described the outcome as a life sentence imposed on vulnerable young people.

Ferguson also criticised the use of the Petition of Concern, saying the device was originally intended to protect minority rights but is now being used to obstruct progressive legislation.

She called on all MLAs to listen to evidence from experts, the Children’s Commissioner and the Children’s Law Centre and to support the proposed change.