Move to ease prison overcrowding as more rioters jailed

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.

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

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

But the vice president of the Prison Governors' Association, Mark Icke, has said he is "not sure" how much the measures will help the UK prison system, which has been "lurching from crisis to crisis for some time".

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 riots erupted following misinformation after three girls were killed in Southport.

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

On Friday, two men received the longest sentences yet related to the disorder. David Wilkinson, 48, was jailed for six years for offences including racially/religiously aggravated criminal damage and attempted arson.

John Honey, 25, was sentenced to four years and eight months for offences including racially aggravated criminal damage.

Under Operation Early Dawn, defendants will only be summoned to a magistrates' court when a space in prison is ready for them.

This means court cases could be delayed, with people kept in police 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.

Deputy Chief Constable Nev Kemp of the NPCC said: "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."

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".

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."

The current capacity of the prison system in England and Wales is 89,191 prisoners. As of Friday, the prison population was 87,893.

Tom Franklin, Chief Executive of the Magistrates Association, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that it was "no surprise" that the emergency measures had been activated.

He said the justice system had been in crisis "for years now, and often unseen by the public".

He added that the civil disorder in recent weeks has brought the importance of a "well-run, well-funded justice system" into the public consciousness, and sparked discussion about "what needs to be done to fix this for the longer term."

More prison spaces could be created in September, when separate measures to release some inmates early come into effect.

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.

Mr Franklin told the BBC that the "enormous pressure" on prisons will "ease" after this plan comes into effect.

Asked if that measure should be brought forward, he said there are "all sorts of steps that need to be taken to bring that about".

He added that the probation service is "working flat out" to implement the plan on 10 September, so it would not be realistic to bring it into effect any sooner.

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

Government sources have stressed that Operation Early Dawn is an emergency measure, which will only operate in the short-term.

Yet as it stands there is no fixed end date for the scheme, which will be kept under constant review.

When it was last activated in May, the Conservative government said the measure would stay in place for a week.

The Prison Governors' Association's Mr Icke has said short-term measures "are not ideal" as a way to fix the problems facing UK prisons.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said running a prison is "an incredibly complex business" and that prison governors "don't know which way to turn at the moment".

"We have been highlighting this to the previous government, we've highlighted this to the new government, and we really do want to sit down and have a conversation about what the purpose of prison is moving forward," he said.

"We cannot carry on operating in this kind of environment," he added. "It's just too much pressure."

-BBC