English: I want to highlight in my contribution this afternoon three particular aspects of the effects of the current system on those currently incarcerated and the consequences. I want to first of all look at the services that are provided - or not provided - for prisoners who speak Welsh. Members of the Chamber will have seen the Welsh Language Commissioner's report, 'Cymraeg yn y carchar', Welsh in prisons. It was a very thorough piece of work, and it was very disturbing. She was able to highlight that provision is not consistently made. She even found that there were instances of prisoners being told not to speak Welsh to their families, and I have personally come across situations where mothers have been told not to speak Welsh to their Welsh-speaking children when those children do not speak English because they're so small. That is a clear breach of those prisoners' human rights. It is more important, indeed, particularly, as the commissioner highlights, because so many of our prisoners have learning difficulties, they may have low levels of education, they may have disabilities, and many of them have mental health issues. It's clear from this report's findings that the provision currently available to Welsh speakers is inadequate and inconsistent, and when it comes to women prisoners, who are all incarcerated beyond Wales, often absolutely non-existent. This has to be addressed, and it is, of course, the legal responsibility of the Minister of justice and the UK Government to address this. It is clear from the commissioner's report that they are failing to do so. Presiding Officer, I just simply don't believe that however much individuals working in the system - and the commissioner does highlight some good practice, it has to be said - try to meet the needs of these prisoners, they are ever going to do it, and instead of trying to fix a broken system under Westminster control, this is a strong argument for me that the criminal justice system needs to be controlled by those politicians who Welsh-speaking people and their families elect, and that, of course, is us. We need to devolve the system. I want to build a little on the points that my colleague Leanne Wood has already made about women prisoners. To begin with, I think we need to address the question as to why women are so routinely incarcerated for offences for which men would be given community penalties. I think we know the answer to that, and I think we know that offending behaviour is perceived by many, when it is done by women, as more transgressive. It is based on sex discrimination, on sexist assumptions about what is acceptable behaviour from women. You know, 'Boys will be boys', they get into a fight, they'll get a community penalty. Girls get into a fight, 'That's outrageous; that's completely transgressive', and they are likely to end up with custodial sentences. And in addressing the problems around women's treatment in the system, we have to base it on that understanding of sex discrimination. We know that there were 227 women from Wales in September 2017 - the most recent figures I could get - who were serving custodial sentences in English prisons. Most of those women are mothers. So, that is at least 200 Welsh families a very long way away from their mothers, and we know that the effects on children and families of incarcerating women can be devastating. Also, we know it doesn't work. We also know that women end up going back into custody, again, very often, for non-payment of fines, and this has got to stop. We need to look and we need to examine the attitudes within the system that are leading to women being incarcerated when men were not. We need some facilities for women prisoners here in Wales, close to their families. We know that that's absolutely crucial in terms of their likelihood to be able to rehabilitate and reintegrate successfully into society. I think we need to debate whether we need a small, secure unit - whether we need a small women's prison here in Wales for those offenders who really cannot be supported in the community. But the vast majority of our women prisoners should not be in prison at all, and they should be helped, not punished. Lastly, Presiding Officer, I want to talk very briefly about the youth justice system. We've discussed this in this Chamber on a number of occasions. I want to talk from a very personal perspective, because the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services will remember a time when I was actively engaged in this field, running a youth justice project for Barnardo's. All the young people we worked with - and they were mostly young men - would have gone into custody had they not come to us. And one of the things that I want to put to bed is the idea that community penalties are soft. They are not. On a number of occasions when I was working with young men, for example, confronting them with the victims of their offences, they asked me to breach them and send them into custody, because they knew how to do custody. Custody was relatively easy. Facing up to what they'd done wrong and making amends for it was much, much more challenging. Now, that was a very thoroughly researched project, funded by Barnardo's, researched by universities. Only one in 10 of those young people reoffended at all, and those who did reoffended much less seriously. It was expensive, but it was a lot cheaper than incarcerating them. We have known, Presiding Officer, for 25 years that young offenders are usually young offenders because they are young people in trouble, and once again we need to intervene in their lives in a way that supports them. Because I know from personal experience - and I can see those young people's faces today - that if we intervene in a manner that supports them, we can not only change their lives for the better, but we can prevent them from reoffending. We need a Welsh approach to dealing with our very, very troubled young people, and we need, again, to make those decisions here.
Welsh: Yn fy nghyfraniad y prynhawn yma rwyf am dynnu sylw at dair agwedd benodol ar effeithiau'r system bresennol ar y rhai sydd ar hyn o bryd yng ngharchar a chanlyniadau hynny. Rwyf am edrych yn gyntaf ar y gwasanaethau a ddarperir - neu na ddarperir - ar gyfer carcharorion sy'n siarad Cymraeg. Bydd aelodau o'r Siambr wedi gweld adroddiad Comisiynydd y Gymraeg, 'Cymraeg yn y carchar'. Roedd yn ddarn trylwyr iawn o waith, ac roedd yn peri pryder mawr. Gallodd dynnu sylw at y ffaith nad yw'r ddarpariaeth yn gyson. Canfu hyd yn oed fod yna enghreifftiau o garcharorion yn cael gorchymyn i beidio â siarad Cymraeg â'u teuluoedd, ac rwyf wedi dod ar draws sefyllfaoedd yn bersonol lle dywedwyd wrth famau am beidio â siarad Cymraeg â'u plant sy'n siarad Cymraeg pan fydd y plant hynny mor ifanc fel nad ydynt yn siarad Saesneg am eu bod mor fach. Mae hynny'n amlwg yn dramgwydd yn erbyn hawliau dynol y carcharorion hynny. Mae'n bwysicach yn wir, yn enwedig, fel y noda'r Comisiynydd, am fod gan gynifer o'n carcharorion anawsterau dysgu, efallai fod ganddynt lefelau addysgol isel, efallai fod ganddynt anableddau, ac mae gan lawer ohonynt broblemau iechyd meddwl. Mae'n amlwg o ganfyddiadau'r adroddiad hwn fod y ddarpariaeth sydd ar gael ar hyn o bryd i siaradwyr Cymraeg yn annigonol ac yn anghyson, ac o ran carcharorion benywaidd, sydd wedi'u carcharu y tu allan i Gymru, bob un ohonynt, yn aml iawn nid yw'r ddarpariaeth ar gael o gwbl. Rhaid mynd i'r afael â hyn, ac wrth gwrs, cyfrifoldeb cyfreithiol y Gweinidog cyfiawnder a Llywodraeth y DU yw mynd i'r afael â hyn. Mae'n amlwg i mi o adroddiad y comisiynydd eu bod yn methu gwneud hynny. Lywydd, faint bynnag o unigolion sy'n gweithio yn y system - ac mae'r comisiynydd yn tynnu sylw at rai arferion da, mae'n rhaid dweud - sy'n ceisio diwallu anghenion y carcharorion hyn, nid wyf yn credu eu bod byth yn mynd i'w wneud, ac yn hytrach na cheisio trwsio system sydd wedi torri o dan reolaeth San Steffan, mae hon yn ddadl gref i mi fod angen i'r system cyfiawnder troseddol gael ei rheoli gan y gwleidyddion a etholir gan bobl sy'n siarad Cymraeg a'u teuluoedd, a ni yw'r rheini wrth gwrs. Mae angen datganoli'r system hon. Rwyf am adeiladu ychydig ar y pwyntiau a wnaed eisoes gan fy nghyd-Aelod, Leanne Wood, am fenywod sy'n garcharorion. Credaf yn gyntaf fod angen inni roi sylw i'r cwestiwn ynglŷn â pham y caiff menywod eu carcharu fel mater o drefn i'r fath raddau am droseddau y bydd dynion yn cael cosbau cymunedol amdanynt. Credaf ein bod yn gwybod yr ateb i hynny, a chredaf y gwyddom fod ymddygiad troseddol yn cael ei weld gan lawer yn fwy tramgwyddus pan gaiff ei wneud gan fenywod. Mae'n seiliedig ar wahaniaethu ar sail rhyw, ar dybiaethau rhywiaethol ynglŷn â beth sy'n ymddygiad derbyniol gan fenywod. Wyddoch chi, 'Bechgyn yw bechgyn', maent yn ymladd, maent yn cael cosb gymunedol. Mae merched yn ymladd, 'Mae hynny'n warthus; mae'n gwbl gamweddus', ac maent yn debygol o gael dedfryd o garchar. Ac wrth inni ymdrin â'r problemau sy'n ymwneud â'r modd y caiff menywod eu trin yn y system, rhaid inni ei seilio ar y ddealltwriaeth honno o wahaniaethu ar sail rhyw. Rydym yn gwybod bod yna 227 o fenywod o Gymru ym mis Medi 2017 - y ffigurau diweddaraf y gallwn eu cael - yn bwrw dedfryd mewn carchardai yn Lloegr. Mae'r rhan fwyaf o'r menywod hyn yn famau. Felly, dyna o leiaf 200 o deuluoedd Cymru sydd ymhell iawn oddi wrth eu mamau, a gwyddom y gall effeithiau carcharu menywod ar blant a theuluoedd fod yn ddinistriol. Gwyddom hefyd nad yw'n gweithio, a bod menywod yn mynd yn ôl i garchar, yn aml iawn am beidio â thalu dirwyon, a rhaid rhoi diwedd ar hyn. Mae angen inni edrych ac archwilio agweddau o fewn y system sy'n arwain at garcharu menywod pan na wneir hynny yn achos dynion. Mae arnom angen cyfleusterau ar gyfer carcharorion sy'n fenywod yma yng Nghymru, yn agos at eu teuluoedd. Gwyddom fod hynny'n gwbl hanfodol o ran y tebygolrwydd o allu eu hadsefydlu a'u hailintegreiddio'n llwyddiannus yn y gymdeithas. Credaf fod angen inni drafod a oes arnom angen uned ddiogel fach - a oes arnom angen carchar bach i fenywod yma yng Nghymru ar gyfer y troseddwyr na ellir eu cynnal yn y gymuned. Ond ni ddylai mwyafrif helaeth ein carcharorion sy'n fenywod fod yn y carchar o gwbl, a dylid eu helpu, nid eu cosbi. Yn olaf, Lywydd, hoffwn siarad yn fyr am y system cyfiawnder ieuenctid. Rydym wedi trafod hyn yn y Siambr ar sawl achlysur. Rwyf am siarad o berspectif personol iawn, oherwydd bydd y Dirprwy Weinidog dros Iechyd a Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol yn cofio adeg pan oeddwn yn weithredol yn y maes, yn rhedeg prosiect cyfiawnder ieuenctid ar ran Barnardo's. Byddai'r holl bobl ifanc y gweithiem gyda hwy - a dynion ifanc oeddent yn bennaf - wedi cael eu carcharu pe na baent wedi dod atom ni. Ac un o'r pethau rwyf am roi diwedd arno yw'r syniad fod cosbau cymunedol yn rhai hawdd. Nid yw hynny'n wir. Ar nifer o achlysuron pan oeddwn yn gweithio gyda dynion ifanc, er enghraifft, yn dod â hwy wyneb yn wyneb â dioddefwyr eu troseddau, byddent yn gofyn i mi ddweud eu bod yn torri'r amodau a'u hanfon i'r carchar, oherwydd gwyddent sut i ymdopi â charchar. Roedd carchar yn gymharol hawdd. Roedd wynebu'r hyn a wnaethant o'i le a gwneud iawn amdano lawer iawn yn fwy heriol. Nawr, roedd hwnnw'n brosiect a ymchwiliwyd yn drwyadl iawn, wedi'i ariannu gan Barnardo's a'i ymchwilio gan brifysgolion. Un o bob 10 o'r bobl ifanc hynny a aildroseddodd o gwbl, ac roedd aildroseddau'r rhai a wnaeth lawer yn llai difrifol. Roedd yn ddrud, ond roedd yn llawer rhatach na'u carcharu. Lywydd, rydym wedi gwybod ers 25 mlynedd fod troseddwyr ifanc yn droseddwyr ifanc fel arfer am eu bod yn bobl ifanc mewn trafferthion, ac unwaith eto mae angen inni ymyrryd yn eu bywydau mewn ffordd sy'n eu cefnogi. Oherwydd gwn o brofiad personol - a gallaf weld wynebau'r bobl ifanc hynny heddiw - os ydym yn ymyrryd mewn modd sy'n eu cefnogi, nid yn unig y gallwn newid eu bywydau er gwell, ond gallwn eu hatal rhag aildroseddu. Mae arnom angen dull Cymreig o ymdrin â'n pobl ifanc cythryblus iawn, ac unwaith eto, mae angen inni wneud y penderfyniadau hynny yma.