Devolved justice is no simple solution

SHOULD justice and policing be devolved?

This is probably not a subject high on most people’s priorities as we face a cost-of-living crisis and continuing war in Europe. But plans are in progress and we should join in the debate…

The background is that the Welsh Government has an established policy of seeking devolution of justice and policing matters, a major constitutional step which would put Wales in much the same position as Scotland and Northern Ireland. This would need the agreement of the UK Government and that’s not on offer at present. However, the UK Labour Party has just published plans for constitutional reform which are more amenable (although so far they only propose to devolve youth justice and the probation service) – so if a Labour government was to be elected in the UK then things might change.

Meanwhile, the Welsh Government describes this next step in devolution as “inevitable”. Well, maybe, but I suggest that Welsh citizens should first surely consider whether it is in their best interests.

In my previous role as Deputy Chief Constable of North Wales Police and now as chair of Adferiad Recovery, I have worked for many years in the borderlands between devolved and undevolved powers. I am thinking particularly about some of the most vulnerable and stigmatised people in Wales – people with a serious mental illness or addiction problems (or both). They are frequently in contact with both health and social care services and also with the police and justice system – as victims of crime, as vulnerable people rescued from the streets by the police, and sometimes for committing offences.

Now I can point to a great deal of successful co-operation in Wales between the police, courts, health and social services, which are quite capable of working across the devolution divide; I could also point out that elsewhere in the UK it doesn’t follow that there is more co-operation just because these services work to the same political authority.

But I recognise that there is a clear benefit in joined-up political control of the policies and resources which supply and support these services. That’s because the people with complex problems don’t fit neatly under one service or another; and the politicians should be focused on the individuals’ needs, not on the narrow agendas of those who manage different agencies.

So should we bring it on? Yes, I believe so, but I have two important caveats.

First, we need to be convinced that the Senedd and Welsh Government are making the best use of powers which they already hold.

A Mental Health Bill is about to go through the UK Parliament but the Welsh Government, which has powers over most matters covered by the Bill, seems likely to wave that through so that it also applies to Wales rather than develop its own legislation based on what would be best for patients here. I urge them to think again and step up – you will convince us more about the case for further devolution if we see you grasp this opportunity first.

Second, there is a risk that newly devolved powers could be exploited by powerful lobbies with more tenacity than Welsh politicians who will come fresh to these complex issues.

One example: there is pressure from lobby groups to address the problems caused by illegal drugs by “progressive” means – for example by accepting “safe use” of drugs as sufficient rather than helping patients to achieve abstinence or by easing the application of laws prohibiting drugs (this is happening in Scotland).

A future Welsh Government on receipt of new powers needs to be very careful not to rush to adopt seductive solutions which are not really progressive at all but spring from an old-fashioned (dare I say “boomer”?) viewpoint which sees drug use as inevitable and intractable.

My advice is to listen by all means to the lobby groups but take your lead from young people. They are increasingly turning their backs on drugs – down by nearly half in the past 25 years – and many are moving away from alcohol too5.

Support instead a vision of a Wales where drugs and addiction are not part of our daily lives but rather become a diminishing problem for far fewer people – who can then be helped through compassionate and intensive treatment, not “normalisation”.