The case for devolving justice and policing to Wales – as in Scotland and Northern Ireland – is open and shut. It has been made conclusively by the Silk Commission, the Thomas Commission and, most recently, the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales.
The Welsh Government has responsibility for areas that directly interact with policing and the justice system – health, education, housing and social services – including providing these services in prisons and to young offenders. But policing, the courts and prisons themselves are all reserved to Westminster. This makes it impossible to meaningfully reform the justice system in Wales, and much more difficult to deliver services in a way that is joined up, efficient and delivers the outcomes or value for money we need and want.
Any further work on whether justice and policing should be devolved is a distraction, and the UK Government’s decision to scrap Police and Crime Commissioners provides new impetus for these powers to be devolved.
We will pursue the devolution of justice and policing as an immediate priority.