Police stations on standby to house prisoners

For the first time in 15 years, police forces have been put on standby to take prisoners in their cells - because the jails are full.

 

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) wrote to police forces in the Midlands and the northwest of England requesting the use of police cells for sentenced prisoners due to a lack of prison spaces. Most offenders are only expected to be held in police cells overnight before being moved into prisons through the natural turnover of inmates being freed after completing their sentence.

 

The move has been made under emergency measures, known as Operation Safeguard, that were last used in 2008 under the Labour government.

 

After the barristers' strike halted hundreds of trials, the prison population has risen to 82,700 because of record numbers of suspects held on remand in prisons. The number of remand prisoners increased from 10,000 at the beginning of the pandemic to 15,000 at the peak of the barristers' action.

 

Following the resumption of court hearings there has also been a surge in offenders coming into prisons through the criminal justice system.

 

"We have given notice to the National Police Chiefs Council to make available cells in police custody suites in the North of England and West Midlands as planned under Operation Safeguard. This will help ensure we have enough spaces to manage the short-term pressure on prison places driven in part by the impact of the barristers' strike and Covid pandemic. We are building 20,000 extra prison places and our newest prison is set to open in the spring" an MoJ spokesman said.

 

So far, only male prisons have run out of room. The majority of which are located in the North of England. The prison system has a capacity of 84,000 but has to leave about 1,000 as a buffer for emergencies such as fires, floods or riots. The MoJ has brought an extra 3,100 places in the past year and is constructing new prisons as it aims to expand capacity by 20,000.

 

 

The Johnson Partnership

Derby Crime Solicitors 

01332 370 473