A Welsh Criminological Imaginary: The State of Criminology in Wales

The following paper intends to lay down the foundations for a Welsh school of criminological thinking. Assessing the nature of criminological research and teaching in Wales within the context of devolution and debates concerning the transfer of further powers to the Welsh Government, the paper intends to examine why criminologists have failed to address the context of criminal justice in Wales. In doing so, the paper will draw critical attention to changes that have taken place within higher education as well as the mutually reinforcing role that particular criminological traditions have played in suppressing debates around the Welsh context. As a response, attention is paid to the importance of developing a Welsh Criminological Imaginary to ensure that future scholars and criminological thinkers in Wales, born into the post-devolution era, are able to develop and articulate responses to crime and justice to help move Wales beyond approaches currently taken in Westminster.