Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:43 pm on 8 March 2022.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 1:43, 8 March 2022

Well, I thank Rhys ab Owen for that, and congratulate the Wales Governance Centre on the continuing work that they do and the very important, if very bleak, insights that they are providing to us through the work that they do. The figures to which the Member referred in terms of stop and search are obviously very concerning indeed, but they come on top of the work that we've seen already from the centre. It is a shocking figure, and I'm sure it will be shocking to people around the whole Chamber when that research reveals the fact that, while 14 white people in Wales are imprisoned for every 100,000 people in the population, 91 black people are imprisoned, and that is a shocking analysis. It's why, in the co-operation between our two parties, we have a specific commitment to ensure that the justice elements of the race equality action plan are robust and address these matters with the police and the courts, and that is the way in which we intend to take forward the practical ways in which we can address the figures that we've discussed this afternoon.

The long-term answer, Llywydd, is surely the devolution of policing and justice. And it is my belief, that that is not a matter of if it will happen, it is a matter of when it will happen. It should and it will happen, and that's because the case for doing so is so clear and reinforced by exactly the information that Rhys ab Owen has highlighted this afternoon. Where we have been able to have a strong influence, Llywydd, then we show the difference that we can make. Our influence has probably been strongest in the field of youth justice. A decade ago, in 2011, there were over 3,000 young people brought into the youth justice system for the first time that year. Ten years later, last year, that figure was under 400. Again, back in 2011, 109 young people in Wales were sentenced to custody that year. Last year, it was 17, the lowest figure ever on record. And that's why I feel confident that we will see the devolution of policing and justice, because we can show that, when we have the opportunity, we are able to deliver those services more efficiently and more effectively. Because when they are delivered locally they can be tailored, prioritised and implemented according to the values and the approach that we would wish to see for that service here in Wales.