At last, it’s happened. After months of warnings, the government has today activated emergency measures to ease prison overcrowding. 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 this morning – the second time in fourth months.
Under the measures, defendants will only be summoned to a magistrates’ court when a space in prison is available. Prior to this, they will be kept in police holding cells or released on bail while they await trial. Prisons in the North East and Yorkshire, Cumbria and Lancashire, Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire regions will all be effected, with the Ministry of Justice insisting that anyone who ‘poses a risk to the public’ will not be bailed.
Even before the riots, the prison system was at breaking point
Today’s move comes as more rioters are being sentenced for their role in the recent unrest. Mark Fairhurst, the chairman of the Prison Officers Association told the BBC that the prison estate last week had the biggest influx of new receptions in recent times: ‘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’.
More than 1,000 people have been arrested to date in connection with violent disorder, with upwards of 470 people charged with offences so far. The government’s line is that action to ‘tackle violent thuggery on our streets’ has ‘exacerbated longstanding capacity issues in our prisons’. Lord Timpson, the prisons minister, says that ‘we inherited a justice system in crisis and exposed to shocks’ forcing ‘difficult but necessary decisions to keep it operating’.
Timpson’s point is a fair one: even before the riots, the prison system was at breaking point. The overcrowding was at the top of Sue Gray’s ‘sh**list’ at the beginning of May, when Labour was in opposition. That month, the Sunak government triggered ‘Operation Early Dawn’ in London and the North East for the first time. Tory ministers were sent out on the airwaves to defend the early release of prisoners. In June, the Prison Governors’ Association then warned that ‘the entire criminal justice system stands on the precipice of failure’, with less than 1,400 spaces available.
The violent disorder this month has now proved to be the straw which broke the camel’s back. In the short term, Labour has a good case for blaming the making of this crisis on the Tories. But Starmer and his Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, face a series of unenviable choices for alleviating the pressure on prisons in the medium term, including more early releases. As Leader of the Opposition, Sir Keir attacked Sunak for letting out inmates early; as prime minister, he has won plaudits for his firm handling of the riots.
Locking rioters up has proved popular; letting other criminals out looks likely to be less so.
James Heale discusses this with Isabel Hardman and Cindy Yu on the latest Coffee House Shots:
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