“Viewed through a Welsh prism, the criminal justice system here in Wales is on the brink of collapse. Mr Davies served as a Special Constable with the British Transport Police for many years, so one can only hope that his experience at the sharp end of crime helps him understand the true magnitude of the problem in the criminal system in Wales.
Our criminal courts face grinding to standstill yet again with Welsh court staff proposing days of industrial action due to new proposed working conditions and new court methods of working. This is coupled with a back ground of significant delays and backlogs to criminal cases being dealt with caused by Court Covid closures, striking Barristers and the lack of court rooms to deal with the most serious of cases in the Crown Court. Justice delayed is justice denied to the many thousands of victims of crime.
Delays will compound decades of underfunding in criminal legal aid which has caused criminal defence solicitors to leave the profession in droves and a lack of newly qualified solicitors entering the market, cracks will soon appear across Wales in the provision of criminal legal aid advice. The Truss government settled its pay despite with criminal Barristers but criminal defence solicitors are at a tipping point unless criminal legal aid is properly funded and years of inadequate funding undone.
With Mr Davies now in the corridors of power in Westminster and having been at the sharp end of the criminal justice system for many years, one can only hope that he can influence the direction of travel of the Wales justice system given it is presently headed towards to complete collapse.”
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