North Wales MS Mark Isherwood has spoken of the crucial need to make streets and communities as safe as possible for women and girls, and welcomed measures in the UK Government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which will help achieve this.
Speaking in yesterday’s meeting of the Welsh Parliament, during ‘Topical Questions’, he said:
“I'll speak as the Son, Brother, Husband, Father and Grandfather of women and girls who I care about and love passionately. The recent tragic cases of Sarah Everard and Wenjing Lin have highlighted the issue of violence against women in a truly shocking way. We in this Welsh Parliament are united, I believe, and determined to make our streets and communities as safe as possible for women and girls.
“The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill seeks to equip the police with the powers and tools they need to protect the public, while overhauling sentencing laws to keep serious sexual and violent offenders behind bars for longer.
“New powers proposed will halt the automatic early release of offenders who pose a danger to the public, end the halfway release of offenders sentenced to between four and seven years in prison for serious violent and sexual offences, and reform criminal records disclosure to reduce the time period people have to declare previous non-violent, sexual or terrorist convictions to employers.
“The Bill also imposes a legal duty on local authorities, the police, criminal justice agencies, health, and fire and rescue services to tackle serious violence through data sharing and intelligence.
“Would you therefore agree that these measures, which complement those included in the Domestic Abuse Bill discussed here yesterday, should make women safer in Wales?”
Mr Isherwood also asked how the Welsh Government will engage with the UK Government’s process of seeking views to help inform the development of its next Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.