The evidence is unequivocal: justice and policing should be devolved to Wales, as they are in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Ongoing policing reforms and the scrapping of Police and Crime Commissioners by the UK Government provide new impetus, and we will pursue full devolution with the urgency this deserves.
As we prepare for devolution, we will lay the foundations for a Welsh justice system that is joined-up, preventative and fit for Wales.
We will:
- Bring forward a Welsh Tribunals Bill early in the Senedd term, to create a clearer, more coherent and more independent tribunals system – with modernised procedures, stronger accountability and a sharper focus on users.
- Expand legal apprenticeships in Wales, working with the profession, regulators and training providers to grow higher-level pathways, including solicitor-level routes, so more people can qualify and build legal careers in Wales.
And when powers are devolved, we will build a Welsh justice system in which:
- Youth justice is transformed – raising the age of criminal responsibility, replacing centralised custody with locally based rehabilitation, and embedding restorative justice and trauma-informed practice.
- The particular needs of neurodivergent people are recognised, and mental health, addiction, and other social services are fully integrated into probation, providing more effective support for rehabilitation and reducing reoffending.
- Policing in Wales is rights-based and accountable to the Senedd, focused on community safety through data-led prevention and partnership with local communities.
In the immediate term, we will do more to tackle the causes of crime. We will establish a National Crime Prevention Agency to:
- Strengthen Wales-specific data on crime, sentencing, policing, prisons, and outcomes, to support evidence-based policy-making.
- Coordinate crime prevention and diversion across police forces, the NHS, local authorities, schools, and third-sector partners – sharing best practice and addressing the root causes of crime.
- Support early intervention, restorative justice, and diversion strategies to reduce offending and make communities safer.
- Expand the Cardiff Model nationwide, using anonymised hospital data on violent injuries to target prevention in violent crime hotspots, and examine how this and other innovative approaches can be applied to a wider range of crimes.
We will maintain Welsh Government support for Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs).
We will seek to extend Welsh Language Standards and work to strengthen integration between devolved health, education, and social services in prisons, ensuring access to services in Welsh, and improving the support available to people leaving custody.
We will work with the UK Government to reduce the disproportionate impact on women of the ‘jagged edge’ between devolved and non-devolved responsibilities in the criminal justice system, including by ensuring that fewer women sentenced in Wales are held in prisons in England, far from their families and support networks.