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Asked about the maximum length of time someone would be held in a police cell rather than being sent to court, Ms Stevens told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Anyone who poses a risk to the public will obviously not be bailed, they will be held in a police station until they’re summoned to court and that should be no later than the day after being charged.”<\/p>\n
Phil Jones, custody lead for the Police Federation of England and Wales, said police cells were “not suitable to be used for any great length of time”.<\/p>\n
“Although police officers are highly skilled and trained, they’re not prison officers, and prison officers have really specific training around detainee welfare and the needs of prisoners,” he told Today. <\/p>\n
“If we have a sustained period of time where prisoners are in police cells, then there could be a situation moving forward where we don’t have the capacity in the system to do business as usual.”<\/p>\n
There have been warnings the emergency measure could clog up police cells and limit the ability to arrest people. <\/p>\n
However, the National Police Chiefs Council, an umbrella group for senior officers, has insisted police will continue to arrest anyone they need to in order to keep the public safe. <\/p>\n
Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, someone should be brought before a magistrates’ court at the next available sitting after they are charged with an offence, which is usually the same or next day. <\/p>\n
However, the Law Society, which represents solicitors in England and Wales, has said many magistrates’ court cases will be delayed if there must be a prison cell available, impacting victims as well as defendants.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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‘No wiggle room’<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Stuart Nolan, chairman of the Law Society\u2019s Criminal Law Committee, said normally it would not be necessary to hold people in a police cell for more than a day after they have been charged, while waiting for a court appearance. <\/p>\n
However, he said there was “no wiggle room” when it comes to prison capacity, meaning if there was a major incident like the recent violent disorder, it was possible people could be held for longer.<\/p>\n
Mr Nolan said this could lead to legal challenges, or more people being released on bail rather than being brought quickly before a court. <\/p>\n
“It has knock-on effects,” he said. “If you take up too many cells in your local police station, what do you do with the people you arrest for violent disorder?”<\/p>\n
More prison spaces are expected to become available in September, when separate measures to release some inmates early come into affect. <\/p>\n
The Conservative government also had to use emergency measures to ease the pressure on prisons, with Operation Early Dawn last triggered in May. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/picture><\/span>Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n