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