A Cardiff University expert on Welsh criminal justice has welcomed the Ministry of Justice's move to begin routinely publishing Wales-only prison data.
Dr Robert Jones of the Wales Governance Centre has spent the last decade analysing Welsh statistics acquired via requests through the Freedom of Information Act 2000. His findings, presented in The Welsh Criminal Justice System: On the Jagged Edge published by University of Wales Press and contained in a yearly Fact File, have highlighted many disparities between England and Wales, with Dr Jones arguing for improved access and greater transparency on Welsh data.
The Wales Governance Centre's publications have helped to expose a series of problems in the system; these include the extent of racial disproportionality in the Welsh prison and probation population, the distances facing Welsh women in the prison estate, and data which reveal that Wales has the highest rate of imprisonment in western Europe.
Having worked alongside Dr Jones since January 2025 to establish a list of key 'priority areas', the Ministry of Justice has today published the first sets of Wales-only data , which will now be routinely published on its website on an annual basis.
New country-specific data sets include breakdowns of:
- Welsh people (as defined by their home address prior to entering custody) in prison by establishment, by sentence type, offence type, age, ethnic group, religious identity, security category and local authority.
- Welsh women in prison (as defined by their home address prior to entering custody) in prison by sentence type, offence type, age, ethnic group, religious identity, local authority.
- English people (as defined by their home address prior to entering custody) in prison by sentence type, offence type, age, sex, ethnic group, religious identity, security category, local authority.
Dr Jones, based at the University's School of Law and Politics said: "Today's release is a significant and long overdue milestone following more than decade of research and campaigning by the Wales Governance Centre. The UK Government's commitment to routinely publishing disaggregated prison data will undoubtedly enhance transparency and scrutiny of the Welsh criminal justice system, while contributing significantly to wider academic, political, and public debates on justice in Wales.
"However, despite agreeing to provide most of the data included in the Wales Governance Centre's list of priority areas, there remain many important sources of data excluded from today's release. These include information on parental imprisonment, deaths in custody, as well as the number of Welsh-speaking prisoners in England and Wales.
"It is hoped that dialogue with the Ministry of Justice will continue and that further data sources can be added to these important and much needed releases in the future."
