An emergency plan to avoid overcrowding in jails has been triggered this morning, the government has announced – in the wake of the sentencing of scores of rioters.
Operation Early Dawn is a long-standing plan that means defendants waiting for a court appearance could be held in police cells for longer until prison space is available in the event they are remanded in custody.
However, it could mean court dates are delayed or adjourned at short notice.
Prosecutors have been trying to fast-track cases of people accused of involvement in the recent riots in parts of the UK, with 927 people arrested and 466 of those charged by last Monday.
More than 100 have already been sentenced, it emerged in court last week, with national chairman of Prison Officers Association Mark Fairhurst telling the BBC yesterday that last week, the prison estate had the biggest influx of new receptions it had seen for 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,” he said.
Mr Fairhurst told Sky News the North East and North West were under particular pressure and offenders there faced being “carted 100, 200 miles away from home” to serve their sentence.
The Ministry of Justice confirmed in a statement that prisons in the north of England had seen hundreds of people enter the prison estate in recent weeks after “the government took decisive action to tackle violent thuggery on our streets”.
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.
“However, thanks to the hard work of our dedicated staff and partners, we have brought forward additional prison places and now introduced Operation Early Dawn to manage the pressure felt in some parts of the country.”
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The Ministry of Justice said last month that violence and self-harm in prisons was at “unacceptable” levels with overcrowding pushing some to the “point of collapse”.
A scathing inspection of HMP Wandsworth in southwest London also revealed “chaos” and “appalling conditions”, stemming from “poor leadership at every level”.
To free up space, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood also plans to temporarily cut the proportion of a sentence that must be served before parole is possible from 50% to 40%.
It’s expected to mean 5,500 people being released in September and October.
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It won’t apply to those convicted of terrorism, sex offences, domestic abuse and some violent offences. The government confirmed people involved in the riots also won’t be eligible.
Operation Early Dawn was last used in May by the previous government, again to try to ease overcrowding.
The Law Society warned at the time that cases could be delayed and solicitors were unlikely to know if their clients’ cases would definitely be heard until they arrived at court.
