Diolch. I'd like to begin my contribution by stating once again that what has happened to the probation service, a service that I worked in for many years, has been heartbreaking to witness. It has been ripped apart by the Tories' ideological privatisation of the service and it's an unmitigated disaster. It's demoralised hard-working, experienced probation staff, resulting in many leaving in their droves. It's also diminished the service's ability to monitor offenders, thus reducing public safety. 

There have been a number of cases where offender monitoring has not been adequate, and this has resulted in tragic consequences. I'm sure I don't need to mention the case of Conner Marshall here. There are many others, too. Privatisation has been an expensive gamble that has backfired, as the Tories were warned that it would. 

Now, I agree completely with NAPO Cymru, who say that:

'Attempts to shoe-horn Probation into a market driven model are tortuous, have failed, and will fail.'

I also agree with the Howard League for Penal Reform, who say,

'Commissioning arrangements should be based on cooperation and joint purpose rather than competition. '

The introduction of a profit element into the management of offender risk is obscene, and it should never have been considered in the first place. 

So, that's the past: what about the future? I agree with the decision to reunite offender management back into the public sector here in Wales. This will go some way to address the damage that has been done. While the changes implemented by the Tories can't be completely reversed, there is potential to reimagine a service that will help people get their lives back on track and to reduce their reoffending. I would, however, urge a note of caution and say that care needs to be given as to how further reorganisation is handled. Probation staff have been treated appallingly in recent years. Many people feel as though they've been taken for granted within that system. Further reorganisation, even when carried out with the best intentions for the best possible outcome, must be done in meaningful consultation with staff. Work with them, not against them. We can't afford to further demoralise staff, nor can we afford to lose even more expertise from the service. 

Now I'm sure I won't surprise anyone here by speaking in favour of the devolution of the criminal justice system. I wrote a policy paper back in 2008, it was called 'Making Our Communities Safer', and that recommended devolving the criminal justice system to Wales. Had we done that then, we might well have avoided that disaster that has become probation privatisation. At that time, that paper was seen as a radical document. Then, of course, powers over policing and criminal justice were vociferously opposed by many on the Labour benches, so it's positive to see that, in the intervening years, so many people have now changed their mind. 

When we consider the effects of Westminster cuts to policing, as well as the disaster that has been this probation service privatisation, for me, the case makes itself. Ten years ago, I argued that a devolved criminal justice system would allow Wales to take a different approach to the administration of justice. It would allow us the space to craft Welsh solutions to Welsh problems and make our communities and wider society a safer and fairer place for all of us. My view has not changed in the intervening decade and I'm pleased to see that there has been growing support for this to happen, not just from across this Siambr, but also from right across civic society, too. 

The Tories' approach to justice is punitive, it's unfair, and it's focused on generating private profit from criminalisation and human suffering. Their system is failing our communities. Devolving responsibility for criminal justice would allow us to take this out of the Tories' hands for good. It would allow us to forge our own path in Wales to create a fairer system that could be an example of securing real and fair justice to people in other countries as well.