Experiences of Criminal Justice : Perspectives From Wales on a System in Crisis

When Danish immigrant and Latter-day Saint convert Andrew Jenson left his homeland as a teenager for the American West in 1866, he envisioned a better life in a land of seemingly endless economic and spiritual possibilities. Instead, the Latter-day Saint kingdom in the West, then squarely outside accepted notions of American respectability, brought new challenges. Trapped in a cycle of intermittent wage work, Jenson reimagined himself as a journalist and advocate for Latter-day Saint Scandinavians in Utah Territory. He quickly evolved into a self-made historian for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For the next fifty years until his death in 1941, Jenson documented the church’s transition away from its insular nineteenth-century past toward a more modern future. This book chronicles the life and career of historian Andrew Jenson, a prolific writer and long-time employee of the Historian’s Office, the church’s main archive. Jenson reformed institutional record keeping, expanded the church’s primitive archive, and traveled over one million miles to gather Latter-day Saint history around the globe. This book charts a different course for the field of Latter-day Saint biography by telling the story of a life outside the church’s hierarchy. Additionally, this book uses Jenson’s life to narrate a larger history of the Historian’s Office while offering a fresh perspective on a remarkable era of global growth and change for the church. Front Cover Experiences of Criminal Justice: Perspectives From Wales on a System in Crisis Copyright information Table of contents List of Figures and Tables Foreword Acknowledgments 1 Why Wales? Introduction Similarity, assimilation and difference Within Wales: similarity, divergence and sites of criminal justice The Commission on Justice in Wales Methods and methodology Chapter outline 2 A System in Crisis Introduction Access to justice, neoliberalism and austerity The demise of criminal justice Criminal legal aid: restrictions on obtaining access to justice Vulnerability theory: a radical transformation Conclusion 3 The People and Their Experiences Introduction Practitioners and their work Funding and its importance to criminal justice practice The accused in the criminal process ‘First-timers’ and ‘regulars’ Conclusion 4 Criminal Justice in Its Place Introduction What makes Wales distinct? Court closures in south Wales Prisons in south Wales Similarities with England Conclusion 5 Pressures of Practice Introduction The problems with legal aid funding Too little time The future of criminal defence Wider understanding of criminal justice problems Conclusion 6 Criminal Justice Relationships Introduction Practitioner relationships Perceptions of the accused The lawyer–client relationship Pressures on accused persons Conclusion 7 Navigating the Criminal Justice System Introduction The accused in the criminal process Practitioners’ understandings of the accused’s experience Punishment beyond the process? The role of the family Conclusion 8 Doing Criminal Justice Differently Introduction Connectedness in criminal justice And justice for all? Doing more, doing less and doing better Justice in Wales Challenges and future research Summary of key findings and recommendations References Legislation Case law Index Back Cover Index Austerity continues to impact the criminal justice process in England and Wales: police numbers are down, the Crown Prosecution Service is in disarray, legal aid has been reduced, courts are closing and magistrates are leaving. Research into the criminal process usually focuses on England, however this book offers a rare insight into South Wales. Drawing on first-hand accounts of lawyers, police, suspects, and the convicted and their families, it uncovers how these affected individuals navigate the challenges caused by austerity, what has changed and what can be done to improve the system. This book is a reliable and evocative account of the reality of criminal justice in Wales. Drawing on first-hand accounts of police officers, solicitors, barristers, prison workers, suspects, convicts and their families in South Wales, this book uncovers how austerity affects the everyday working of the criminal process.