Wales Deserves Its Own Justice System – Here’s How It Could Work

Adam Price

Imagine trying to drive a car where someone else controls the steering wheel while you operate the pedals. That’s our justice system.

Wales controls mental health services – except in prisons. We manage drug treatment policy – but not drug courts. We run youth services – but not youth justice. The result is a bureaucratic nightmare where multiple agencies heroically attempt to collaborate while speaking different policy languages.

This isn’t just administrative nonsense – it costs lives.

Conner Marshall’s story haunts me. A young man brutally murdered by David Braddon, an offender under probation supervision whose risk wasn’t properly managed because of systemic failings. His mother Nadine has campaigned tirelessly for change since losing her son in 2015. How many more Welsh families must suffer before we acknowledge the obvious truth? The system is broken.

Three Bold Reforms That Could Transform Wales

After studying justice systems worldwide and consulting with experts across Wales, I’m convinced we need three fundamental changes:

First, we must adopt a Scandinavian approach to youth justice. While England and Wales together lock up more children than almost any country in Western Europe, Norway and Finland focus on intensive education and rehabilitation. The results? Reoffending rates in Scandinavia are lower.

Imagine if young Welsh offenders were placed in small, therapeutic environments where they received education, mental health support, and skills training – instead of being warehoused in institutions that often serve as universities of crime. This isn’t being soft – it’s being smart.

Second, we need a Welsh probation service built on rehabilitation. The privatisation experiment with probation services failed so catastrophically it had to be reversed. Yet we’re still stuck with a system where probation officers juggle impossible caseloads while trying to manage high-risk offenders.

A Welsh probation service would coordinate housing, mental health treatment, addiction services, and training– all areas already devolved to Wales. The evidence shows when these services work together, reoffending plummets.

Third, we should establish a National Crime Prevention Agency based on Welsh innovation. Few people know that the globally-renowned Cardiff Model for Violence Prevention was pioneered right here in Wales by Dr. Jonathan Shepherd. By analysing A and E data and coordinating with police, this approach reduced violent injuries by 42% – far more than in comparable cities without the programme.

Imagine applying this evidence-based, public health approach to all types of crime across Wales, preventing harm before it happens rather than just reacting to it.

Not Soft on Crime – Smart on Safety

Critics will inevitably claim this approach is “soft on crime.” This tired argument ignores a simple truth: the current system is failing to keep us safe.

There’s nothing “soft” about wanting fewer victims. Nothing “soft” about demanding a system that actually works. Nothing “soft” about using evidence instead of empty tough-on-crime rhetoric that has delivered decades of failure.

The truly soft approach is clinging to a broken status quo while expecting different results.

The Path Forward Starts Now

While full devolution of justice powers remains our ultimate goal, we now have an unprecedented opportunity. The UK government has promised Wales limited powers over youth justice and probation – essentially letting us prove what Welsh justice can achieve.

Let’s seize this chance to demonstrate what’s possible when justice is designed by Wales, for Wales. Let’s show that a system grounded in Welsh values of community, compassion, and common sense can deliver what decades of Westminster control couldn’t: safer communities, fewer victims, and genuine rehabilitation.

Our communities deserve better than a justice system that fails them by design. Our children deserve better than being sent to institutions that make them more likely to reoffend. Our victims deserve better than hollow promises about being tough on crime while reoffending rates remain stubbornly high.

Wales has the ideas, the expertise, and now the opportunity to build something better. We can create a justice system that reflects our values and meets our needs – but only if we have the courage to demand it.

The time for tinkering with a broken system is over. The time for transformation is now.