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Emergency move to tackle prison overcrowding could be launched this week as rioters sentenced

To prevent prison overcrowding due to an influx of rioters, the government could launch an emergency plan next week, a prison chief said.

The Prison Guards' Association said the government may be forced to implement the plan because prisons are close to capacity.

Mark Fairhurst, national chairman of the Prison Officers' Association (POA), said Operation Early Dawn could begin next week.

The operation is a long-standing emergency measure of the Justice Department that allows defendants to be held in police cells until prison beds become available.

This could mean that their court dates are postponed or adjourned at short notice.

Mr Fairhurst said the measure risked “clogging up police cells”.

He told BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House on Sunday that an announcement could be made as early as Monday morning.

Mr Fairhurst said: “This is all the result of the rioters. Last week we had the biggest influx of new admissions I have seen for a long time.

Moment a Blackpool rioter was convicted of attacking emergency workers and causing violent disorder

“We had 397 new admissions. Since Friday we only had 340 places left in the closed men's accommodation for adults, which is under the greatest pressure.

“I would not be surprised if the Justice Department announced sometime tomorrow morning that Operation Early Dawn will begin sometime next week, probably starting Tuesday.”

Mr Fairhurst said the move would put pressure on police forces.

He added: “They are currently clogging up the police cells so that they no longer have the power to arrest people and put them in a police cell.

“It has massive knock-on effects on the entire criminal justice system.”

The early release of some prisoners had already been approved by Parliament before the recent unrest.
The early release of some prisoners had already been approved by Parliament before the recent unrest. (PA cable)

Reports followed in The Observer that the government could be on the verge of launching Operation Early Dawn.

Following the riots that broke out across England following the knife attack on three girls in Southport, a total of 460 people appeared before the magistrates' courts in connection with the riots by the end of Thursday.

Mr Fairhurst warned that pressure on the prison system was “really, really big” and that offenders in the most depressed regions faced prison sentences far from their home countries.

He said: “The bottlenecks are currently in the north-east and north-west. Anyone who commits a crime in these areas is likely to be taken 100 to 200 miles from home to serve their sentence because there are simply not enough places there.”

Last month, the Ministry of Justice said violence and self-harm in prisons had reached “unacceptable” levels, with prisons on the “brink of collapse” due to overcrowding.

Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood announced plans to reduce the proportion of prison sentences that prisoners must serve behind bars from 50 percent to 40 percent.

This temporary move – which does not apply to people convicted of sexual offences, terrorism, domestic violence or certain violent crimes – is expected to lead to the release of 5,500 offenders in September and October.

Last Monday, the government confirmed that those involved in the recent unrest would not be exempt from plans to release some prisoners early.

MEPs have already approved the laws that will allow the plan to be implemented. Any changes to the legislation could require a short-term update if additional exemptions are to be included.

Operation Early Dawn was launched by the Conservative government in May to combat prison overcrowding.

The Ministry of Justice was asked for a comment.

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