Corporate report

Criminal Justice Board for Wales Annual Report 2023 to 2024

Published 30 April 2024

Applies to England and Wales

1. Foreword

I am proud to share our third Annual Report, to update you on the activities of the Criminal Justice Board for Wales over the past 12 months and how it has made a difference to people in Wales. I want to start with a reminder of our purpose. The criminal justice system across Wales is made up of multiple parts, overseen by different organisations. The aim of the Board, alongside the Local Criminal Justice Boards, is to work seamlessly together to ensure that the system is fair, efficient and effective for victims, witnesses, people who have offended and employees. In addressing this ambition our approach has not wavered. 

Examples of our coordinated and locally driven approach include:

• our focus on domestic abuse. The Local Criminal Justice Boards examined the end-to-end experiences of domestic abuse victims across the criminal justice system in Wales and created local plans to drive systemic change and reduce victim withdrawals. This proactive approach means Wales is already aligned to the ambitions of the Domestic Abuse Joint Justice Plan which will improve how domestic abuse is responded to and investigated across England and Wales
• our consistent approach towards addressing offending in Wales. We collated and analysed a range of evidence to understand local and Wales wide criminality and what is driving offending behaviours. The Local Criminal Justice Boards are using the evidence to develop local plans for delivery in 2024-25, which will reduce offending and create safer communities
• our first Anti-Racism Action Plan Annual Report sets out our achievements against the Criminal Justice Anti Racism Action Plan, including training, a communication plan and hate crime research. Importantly it also reminds us we have more work to do
• survivor-led approach. We worked with the network of survivor groups in Wales who told us that support pathways, communication, training and alignment with family court were cross cutting issues. Their voice has informed our workplan next year
• becoming a Trauma informed Criminal justice System. It is testament to our partnership working and shared vision that all four Police Forces, HMCTS and HMPPS in Wales are on their trauma informed journey which contributes to a wider Trauma-Informed Wales aspiration

Lastly, it is important to outline that our success is based on four simple key principles:

• our people - it is only with the support of our committed and hard-working people that we can deliver all that we do across our criminal justice system
• focused shared vision - we are clear as a collective with all partners equally invested and committed to achieving change and seeing improvements
• being evidence-led – our plan draws on academic expertise, research, peoples lived experiences as well as data, to ensure we are focused on the right issues
• partnership working – we can achieve more by coming together, working within a constructive and respect environment

It is these principles that put us on a solid footing to deliver on our promises and ambitions during 2024-25.

Amy Rees
Chair of Criminal Justice Board for Wales
Chief Executive HM Prison and Probation Service

2. Background – Who we are

The Criminal Justice Board for Wales (‘Board’) brings together criminal justice partners including: His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS), the Youth Justice Board, Police services in Wales, Chief Constables in Wales, Police and Crime Commissioners in Wales, the Crown Prosecution Service, Public Health Wales, Welsh Government, the Welsh Local Government Association, Voluntary Sector bodies and the Victims Commissioner.

3. Delivering Our Priorities in 2023-24

Below is a snapshot of the Criminal Justice Board for Wales work plan for 2023-24, consisting of four overarching priorities which concentrate effort in a few areas to make a difference and effect change.

3.1 Victims and Witnesses

Workstreams:

1. understand, monitor and improve our response to rape across Wales through Op Soteria
2. examine the domestic abuse reporting and attrition rates across Wales
3. increase the number of special measures applications and victim personal statements taken
4. review the support available for vulnerable families at Family Court
5. evidence compliance of the victim code of practice

3.2 People who have offended

Workstreams:

1. implement the recommendations from the Boards’ review into whether we have services to meet the needs of people who have offended in Wales including: - robust regional assessment of need to inform a Wales strategy - joined up and sustainable commissioning

3.3 Early Intervention and Prevention

Workstreams:

1. develop a consistent Criminal Justice System approach in Wales to ACEs awareness
2. examine trauma informed response across the Criminal Justice System
3. implement early intervention that ‘works’ across Wales
4. understand the prevalence of acquired brain injury for women in the Criminal Justice System

3.4 Anti-racism action

Workstreams:

1. deliver the commitments of the Criminal Justice Anti-Racism Action Plan, including: - cultural competency toolkit - race disparity dashboard - communication and engagement plan and approaches

4. Victims and Witnesses: Meeting their needs

To improve our response, and ultimately the experiences of victims and witnesses across the criminal justice system, the Board agreed that they would focus on the following key areas across Wales.  The strategic Victims and Witnesses Taskforce took responsibility to oversee delivery of this work on behalf of the Board,

4.1 Overseeing our response to Rape across Wales

As we updated in 2022-23, all Welsh Police Forces and CPS in Wales are part of the governments rape transformation programme, known as Operation Soteria. The Board has maximised this opportunity, through the Wales Rape and Serious Sexual Offence Group, and brought together the four regional Operation Soteria plans to understand the response victims of rape receive in Wales, identify, and share new initiatives, best practice and to recognise common challenges to work together to resolve.  The Groups continue to use the MOJ Adult Rape delivery dashboard data to monitor whether  the activities driven via Operation Soteria are making a difference to rape survivors, including whether more survivors are reporting to the Police. The data illustrates that in Wales rape cases continue to be finalised on average 100 days earlier than the average time across England and Wales. But we have more work to do to enhance victim engagement. The Local Criminal Justice Board will continue to play a key oversight role in this space and monitor the local response. We will look forward to updating you on progress next year.

4.2 Addressing the reasons for domestic abuse attrition

The Gwent Local Criminal Justice Board completed the first regional end-to-end workshop and implemented a local action plan to ensure that at all points in the system victims of domestic abuse receive an effective response, mitigating against withdrawals and reducing attrition.  The process was replicated by all other regions in Wales, and each Local Criminal Justice Board will oversee delivery of their local domestic abuse attrition action plan next year and provide support to unblock barriers and challenges. In addition, the Criminal Justice Board for Wales, via the Victims and Witnesses Taskforce, analysed the four action plans to identify where there are consistent issues that would benefit from being addressed across Wales together. The analysis found that there were three common issues – keeping victims updated, parity of support for victims throughout the trial process and informing victims about ‘special measures’ when giving evidence at trial. These common issues will be part of the Victims and Witnesses Taskforce focus next year.

4.3 Listening to Survivors

To ensure all we do is driven by victims and survivors who have lived experience of the criminal justice system, we worked with colleagues across Wales to map the existing violence against women, domestic abuse, and sexual violence (VAWDASV) survivor groups in Wales. We asked them what are the top three issues that survivors tell then need to be addressed to improve the criminal justice system. Four themes emerged, including family court, communication, training for staff and support pathways, and we have used this feedback to inform our 2024-25 work plan.

4.4 Reviewing the Best Practice Framework in Wales

The Board undertook a review across Wales to assess if the four components of the UK Government’s Domestic Abuse Best Practice Framework were consistently being applied across the courts in Wales and made a range of recommendations that will be progress in 2024-25.

4.5 Ensure victims of crime know what to expect at each stage of the criminal justice process and the support available

All partners have added the link to the MOJ’s victims’ information page onto their organisations website, so that victims of crime have access to key information about the different stages of the criminal justice journey. In addition, at a local level all Police Forces in Wales have produced victim information packs which include the stages of the criminal justice system, the different organisations, and roles that they perform and the support that is available. These packs are accessible publicly through each Forces’ website. The victim packs have also been promoted internally at a local level through our survivor network groups. However, the Board want to do more in this space so will be looking to continue to increase awareness of support and understanding of the criminal justice system next year.

4.6 Victims and witnesses are more aware of special measures

Survivors told us last year that special measures and giving evidence remotely was beneficial and made them feel safer and more confident giving evidence. Therefore, through our criminal justice partners, including our dedicated special measures advocates, we promoted the importance of quality conversations taking  places with victims and witnesses at an early stage to inform them about special measures. The Board collated data to monitor performance which included the use of the fourteen new dedicated VAWDASV remote sites across Wales – which, when compared to 2022, 226 survivors of VAWDASV across Wales used a remote site during 2023, an increase of 12%. Importantly this includes people using the sites to give evidence at a criminal trial as well as family court proceedings.

A Learning Exchange Day was held in Wales which reviewed the effectiveness of the remote evidence sites and identify areas for improvement. The event also provided an opportunity for criminal justice partners and representative across the VAWDASV specialist sector to engage with the Judiciary – sharing victims’ lived experiences and asking questions.  As a result, next year the Board will focus on Family and Civil Court proceedings and increasing awareness of special measures, including remote evidence site in Wales. We look forward to updating you on the outcomes.

4.7 Ensuring support offered within Family and Civil Court proceedings

The Board worked with the VAWDASV Blueprint programme to understand the support pathways for children experiencing domestic abuse, who are within the family and civil court processes, specifically child contact arrangement hearings. The research undertaken identified the need to create a direct support pathway, which is being commenced  in North Wales initially next year via the Pathfinder project.

4.8 Ensure compliance with the Victims’ Code

In readiness for the requirements of the Victims and Prisoners Bill, criminal justice partners in Wales have proactively worked with MOJ colleagues and self-assessed their current capabilities to collect and collate the required Victims’ Code data. The approach has also helped to feedback to the MOJ and internally what additional resources will be required to collate and analyse data moving forward, especially to ensure victims are being kept updated at all key points of their criminal justice journey.

Alongside the Victims’ Code metric, which is used to assess compliance, the Board reviewed its existing qualitative dip sample approach.  Building on this work, the Board will use the research that the MOJ has undertaken to understand the best way for LCJBs to hear the voices and criminal justice experiences of victims.

5. People who have Offended: Meeting their needs

5.1 Delivering against the Recommendations from the Review into the offending landscape across Wales

Through the Strategic People who have offended Taskforce, the Board has concentrated on delivering against several recommendations from the review into the landscape of offending across Wales. Progress includes:

• Joined up commissioning approach: The Integrated Offender Management Cymru Website will hold and share information about the interventions and services available across Wales. The information will be used by the Wales Commissioning and Collaboration Board to discuss needs and built into the commissioning cycle at a local and Wales level
• Understanding and address crime and offending behaviour locally: Evidence-led local offending profiles were completed to inform each Local Criminal Justice Board about the most prevalent crime types, offering demographics, criminogenic needs and drivers of offending and the services and interventions available to address the offending behaviour and reduce crime. LCJBs will use the evidence to develop a local 2024-25 People who have Offended action plan to target the top offences in their region and work to reduce reoffending. We look forward to updating you on the work that was achieved through these plans next year
• Address Service Gaps in Wales: The local offending profile also evidenced that accommodation, managing emotions, mental health and neurodiversity are cross cutting service gaps for people who have offended across Wales. The Board will work together to address during 2024-25 and update you on progress next year
• A picture of offending in Wales and addressing Violence: The local crime profiles illustrate that violence is the most prevalent crime type in Wales. Therefore, LCJBs will consider their local plans including the serious violence duty assessment and the work of Wales Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) Blueprint and align activity. The Taskforce will bring together the local plan to share learning and ensure join up across Wales to reduce offending
• Alignment with Youth Justice: The Criminal Justice Steering Group have discussed the role of the Board and LCJBs, and how they add value and support the youth justice system and outcomes for young people. A governance paper setting out the role is expected in the spring of 2024

6. Early Intervention and Prevention

We concentrated on delivering three key issues across Wales, building on the thinking and work we commenced in 2022-2023.

6.1 Ensuring the Criminal Justice System is consistently aware of Adverse Childhood Experiences and become trauma informed.

As discussed in our 2022-23 Annual Report, HMCTS, North Wales Police and South Wales Police agreed to be part of a trauma informed trailblazer pilot, to work towards a collective ambition – to be a more trauma-informed criminal justice system. This work is to implement the Trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) informed toolkit, which is a key resource of the all of society Wales Trauma-informed Framework published in 2022, which sets out the ambition for a trauma-informed nation. During 2023, HMPPS, Dyfed Powys Police and Gwent Police also committed to taking this approach forward, ensuring we are closer to achieving our shared ambition.

However, we must be clear, this ambition is wide reaching and complex, aiming to make systemic change across Criminal Justice, and devolved and non-devolved services across Wales. Many organisations are already on this journey; therefore, our first step was to learn from their experience, drawing particularly on the work undertaken across the substance misuse sector, further and higher education, housing, the Youth Justice Blueprint and Youth Justice Services. Policing and Criminal Justice also has considerable learning from the implementation of the Early Action Together Programme. A review of how that work was embedded and the impact it has had was also a key element of the preparatory work. As well as listening to academic’s and organisations who have been on the trauma informed journey to develop a practical and phased approach.

The development stage has begun, with trailblazers using the ACE Hub Wales Trauma and ACE (TrACE)-Informed Toolkit to work though the stages of the journey, starting with an organisational self-assessment of where there is already good practice taking place and identifying where to concentrate effort and make improvements. Trailblazers will finalise this work during 2024-25, working through the six domains of the toolkit such as leadership and governance, policies, communications, training and development with the goal of a clear action plan for implementation by the end of the year. We look forward to updating you in our 2024-25 Annual Report on what organisations found and the areas they want to focus on and improve.

6.2 Implement early intervention that ‘works’ across Wales

Last year we undertook a review of prevention projects and activities across the four Police Forces, building on the review conducted by the Violence Prevention Unit to look at mapping the approach to prevention work across the Criminal Justice System. The work identified some areas of early promise, but no substantial areas of work, particularly in the primary prevention area, could be used to significantly inform our knowledge of ‘what works’. This was an important finding, and made clear that primary prevention, and the integration of work with the devolved areas crucial to this space such as education and health, was still an area that we need to prioritise going forward. This will be part of the consideration of the Trauma Informed Adverse Childhood Experience (TrACE) toolkit work above, which will include prevention and working with partners, but also a need to maintain the mapping and gapping work at a local level to identify areas to test and pilot innovation in this space. This will form part of the Local Criminal Justice Boards work in 2024-25.

6.3 Understand the prevalence of acquired brain injury for women in the criminal justice system in Wales

The Women in Justice Blueprint commissioned an external expert to undertake the research into how women are affected by acquired brain injury across the criminal justice system. A final report will be submitted to the Board in the summer who will agree actions they will take to reduce the number of women who are impacted by acquired brain injury across the criminal justice system.

7. Anti-Racism Action Plan

The Board published their Criminal Justice Anti-Racism Action Plan for Wales, in September 2022, setting out the seven commitments the Board will deliver against by 2030.

One of our commitments was to produce an Anti-Racism Annual Report to increase transparency and set out in more detail what has been achieved during 2023-24 and the work and challenges that remain. We are delighted to embed our first Anti Racism Annual Report below. 

Some of the key achievements last year are provided below:

7.1 The Independent Oversight and Advisory Panel – focus on measuring change.

The Panel has been meeting for over a year and has received a number of presentations from partners agencies and work stream leads in relation to their anti-racism work. The panel have scrutinised the internal governance arrangements for the Plan in each partner agency and continually look to push for progress. They have established their work programme for the year ahead, which will enable them to focus their oversight in key thematic areas. The Panel alongside the Community Engagement Network are ensuring all the work that we do is driven and informed by ethnic minority people in Wales.

7.2 Governance and leadership review complete and implemented

The criminal justice system is made up of a range of different organisations and systems. Therefore, to ensure all parts of the system is delivering against the seven commitments set out in the Anti Racism Plan, robust oversight, accountability and escalation processes were required in Wales. This approach helps to identify areas of progress and risk. The recent governance review has enabled better co-ordination of effort, and a more inclusive approach to decision making and policy development by bringing in more ethnic minority external voices.

7.3 Anti - Racism Communication Plan

Partners worked together to develop a Communication Plan for Wales, which will be enhanced and delivered by an external communication provider during 2024-25. The plan will focus on educating, challenging perceptions and attitudes relating to racism, and providing updates to communities on what the Plan is achieving.

7.4 Cultural Competency training

External training providers deliver training to individuals across the criminal justice system to enhance their knowledge and skills and ensure they are culturally competent when interacting with people from ethnic minority backgrounds. The training is being evaluated by Public Health Wales so that learning can be threaded into the Training & Cultural Competency work stream.

7.5 Literature review to understand out of court disposal use and behaviour change options for perpetrators of hate crime

The review provided insight into initiatives that work and examples of further inventions to be developed and offered to people who have perpetrated race hate.

7.6 Literature review to understand issues surrounding the under representation of ethnic minority people in out of court disposals and diversion (with a focus on women and young people)

The review has provided insight into the issues to address and will be followed up with further field work with stakeholders.

8. Our ambitions for 2024 - 2025

We have applied our four founding principles, as alluded to earlier, which include investing in our people, a shared collective vision, partnership working, being evidence-led to develop our work plan for next year illustrated below.

I look forward to updating you next year on the difference we have made.

8.1 Criminal Justice Board for Wales: Our Priorities

Victims and witnesses

• compliance with the Victims’ Code
• reduce domestic abuse attrition
• increase awareness of special measures
• focus on family court

People who have offended

• bring together a picture of offending across Wales
• LCJBs will implement 12-month action plans to address local offending behaviours

Early intervention and prevention

• criminal justice organisations are ACEs aware and trauma informed
• LCJBs - have the right services to intervene early and prevent crime and harm
• understand prevalence to acquired brain injury for women in the criminal justice system

Anti-racism action plan

• LCJBs to deliver plan commitments
• a policy audit
• improve data collection and sharing
• increase ethnic minority representation