Police Ombudsman clears PSNI officers of wrongdoing after Palestine protest arrests in Belfast

The women, one aged 72 and the other in her fifties, were arrested outside a bank in Castle Place on 24 May 2025 on suspicion of criminal damage after stickers were placed on an ATM.

The Ombudsman said its investigation found the arrests did not breach police guidelines or the PSNI Code of Ethics. However, it identified concerns about officers taking no action against two other women who had been reported for similar activity.

No complaints were made about the incident, but Police Ombudsman Chief Executive Hugh Hume decided an independent investigation was necessary because officers' actions could potentially amount to misconduct.

The stickers had been removed by bank staff before the arrests. However, investigators noted that case law established that temporarily impairing an item's use or function could amount to criminal damage.

The investigation found that officers had failed to act against two other suspects. One officer took no action after a city centre CCTV operator specifically identified a suspect to him.

The Ombudsman recommended that steps be taken to improve the performance of the two arresting officers.

The PSNI rejected the recommendation in relation to one officer, who said he had been unaware that the women arrested were not those identified in the original call for assistance but accepted the recommendation concerning the second officer.

The PSNI also accepted a recommendation to improve the performance of a custody officer who entered identical information into police records about the two women's arrests, despite their circumstances being different.

Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said: “Importantly, this investigation found that our officers did not act unlawfully, did not breach police guidance and found no misconduct. There was, however, some shortcomings in aspects of the police response and in the recording of information.

“We have carefully considered the Ombudsman’s recommendations. Action to improve performance has been accepted in respect of two officers. In relation to a third officer, having considered the circumstances and evidence available, it was determined that no further action was required.”

People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll said it was "completely absurd" that two women were arrested "for putting stickers on a cash machine during a peaceful protest against genocide".

He claimed the bank at the centre of the protest provides services to arms companies which supply Israel.

"That is where the real damage is being done, and nobody has been arrested for that."

UUP leader Jon Burrows said the report showed the arrests breached neither police guidance nor the Code of Ethics.

He described the investigation as “disproportionate, far too slow and much ado about very little”, arguing that the shortcomings could have been dealt with through local management.

He also called on Sinn Féin MLA Pat Sheehan to withdraw his condemnation of the arrests, which he had described as “disgraceful”.

Sinn Fein was invited to respond.

DUP Policing Board member Trevor Clarke said the findings "reinforced the need for the law to be applied consistently, regardless of the cause being protested".

He added: "The PSNI must explain what steps are being taken to ensure that officers apply the law consistently and that these shortcomings are not repeated."

The SDLP was also invited to comment.