Federation voice needs to be heard in devolution conversations

26 May 2022

Nicky Ryan says the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) must be involved in any discussions around the devolution of justice in Wales.

Nicky, the PFEW Welsh affairs lead, said it’s crucial that the voices of rank and file officers were heard loud and clear.

She said: “The Federation remains neutral on whether policing should be devolved to the Welsh Senedd. But we are supportive of seeking quantifiable, evidenced answers to the questions around the devolution of policing to show why it should or shouldn’t go ahead. 

“And the Federation needs to be at the table and included in the debate. It’s vital that the voice of our members is heard loud and clear.” 

Nicky also welcomed the engagement with the Welsh Government which sent the Federation embargoed copies of the report pre-publication and also wrote to national chair Steve Hartshorn encouraging and welcoming engagement. 

She was speaking after the Welsh Government set out plans to devolve the justice system in Wales in its policy document, Delivering Justice for Wales. 

The publication says that devolution of justice to Wales is ”inevitable”, and sets out the core components of what a devolved justice system would look like. 

This would include:

• Focusing on prevention and rehabilitation
• Reducing the size of the prison population by pursuing alternatives to custody where appropriate, such as programmes to address mental health issues and support with treatment for drug and alcohol misuse.
• Taking a rights based approach to law and policy making, and expanding the incorporation of internationally agreed rights’ standards into domestic law.

Launching the publication, counsel general Mick Antoniw said: “The only sustainable way to improve the justice system is to reduce the number of people coming into contact with it. Our publication sets out the innovative ways in which we are using the powers we have, including early intervention to steer people away from the criminal justice system, and how we would seek to build on that through a fully devolved justice system.

“But the policies of successive UK governments since 2010 have firmly pulled the shutters down on access to justice, threatened fundamental rights and protections, and removed vital funding. 

“We will continue to use the levers at our disposal to pursue a whole-system, person-centred approach to justice. And we look forward to justice and policing being devolved to Wales so we can accelerate this work and deliver a better system for citizens, communities and businesses across Wales.” 

Jane Hutt, minister for social justice, said: “The clear conclusion of the independent Commission on Justice in 2019 was that policies and decisions about justice need to be determined and delivered in Wales, so they align with the distinct and developing social, health, social justice and education policy and services in Wales and the growing body of Welsh law. 

“By joining up the justice system with the rest of Welsh policy making we can find truly effective ways of reducing crime. 

“Our work on the Youth Justice and Women’s Justice Blueprints, and violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence, show what can be done collaboratively to develop services tailored to the Welsh context. 

“As it stands, however, the savings we make for courts or prisons – for example, through PCSOs being successful in crime prevention – are not being reinvested in Wales. Devolution must happen so all this money can be reinvested in meeting Wales’s urgent needs.” 

In a joint statement Alun Michael, Dafydd Llywelyn, Andy Dunbobbin and Jeff Cuthbert, Police and Crime Commissioners for South Wales Police, Dyfed Powys Police, North Wales Police and Gwent Police, said: “It is our considered view that the way that policing and criminal justice in Wales has been delivered through the pandemic consolidates the case for devolution, in the best interest of the delivery of justice in Wales and of joined-up services to the public.” 

The document and the issue of justice in Wales was debated in a plenary session in the Senedd. 

Read the transcript of the debate.