Emergency move to ease prison overcrowding activated

The government has activated emergency measures to ease prison overcrowding as more rioters are being sentenced for their role in recent unrest.

Across the north of England defendants waiting for a court appearance will be kept in police cells until prison space is available.

The system, known as Operation Early Dawn, was activated on Monday morning. It was previously used by the Conservative government in May.

The government said that its action to “tackle violent thuggery on our streets” has “exacerbated longstanding capacity issues in our prisons”.

More than 1,000 people have been arrested in connection with violent disorder following riots in England and Northern Ireland earlier this month, according to the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

The Crown Prosecution Service says more than 470 people have been charged with offences so far.

Prisons in the North East and Yorkshire, Cumbria and Lancashire, and Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire regions will be effected.

Under the measures, defendants will only be summoned to a magistrates’ court when a space in prison is ready for them.

Before this, they will be kept in police holding cells or released on bail while they await trial.

The Ministry of Justice said that anyone who “poses a risk to the public” will not be bailed and the police’s ability to arrest criminals will not be affected.

Prisons Minister Lord Timpson said: “We inherited a justice system in crisis and exposed to shocks. As a result, we have been forced into making difficult but necessary decisions to keep it operating.”

He said that the emergency measures will help “manage the pressure felt in some parts of the country”.

Deputy Chief Constable Nev Kemp of the NPCC said: “We are working closely with criminal justice system partners to manage demand in the system and ensure that the public are safe.

“Policing will continue to arrest anyone that they need to in order to keep the public safe, including policing protests and events and ensuring that people are arrested as expected.”

Prison Officers’ Association chair Mark Fairhurst told the BBC on Sunday that activating these emergency measures would have a “massive knock-on effect on the entire justice system”.

Mr Fairhurst said: “This is all a result of the rioters. Last week, we had the biggest influx of new receptions I’ve seen for quite some time.

“We had 397 new receptions. As of Friday we only had 340 spaces left in the adult closed male estate which is feeling the most pressure.”

But the government has introduced measures intended to ease the pressure on the overcrowded system.

In July, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans to cut the proportion of the sentence inmates must serve behind bars from 50% to 40%.

The temporary move is expected to result in 5,500 offenders being released in September and October. It does not apply to those convicted of sex offences, terrorism, domestic abuse or some violent offences.

Last week, the government confirmed those involved in recent unrest would not be excluded from its plans to release some inmates from jail early.