Accommodation will be provided in hundreds of police cells prisonersThe government has made an announcement in England and Wales that prisons are too full.
Minister of Justice Damien HindsHe stated that Operation Protect, an urgent contingency plan called Operation Protect, was launched Wednesday due to the “sharply and sudden increase in prison population”.
He told the Commons: “I am announcing today that we have written to the National Police Chiefs Council to request the temporary use of up to 400 police cells through a prescribed protocol known as Operation Safeguard.
“This will provide the immediate additional capacity we need in the coming weeks to ensure the smooth running of the prison, and to continue to keep dangerous offenders off the streets.”
Hinds claimed that the increase was due in part to an increase in prisoners being held before trial and sentencing. He blamed a strike by lawyers that delayed cases this summer.
He stated, “As the court hearings resume, I am seeing a rise of offenders coming through criminal justice system, which puts a strain on capacity at adult men’s jails in particular.”
As of 25 Nov, there were 82.839 inmates in England and Wales prisons, compared with 79.685 at the same time in 2021.
During the same time, prison officers were leaving their posts at an increasing rate amid concerns about the experience level of those still in office.
Steve Reid MP is Labour’s shadow justice Minister. He stated that despite reports of rape increasing to record levels, the Tories had reduced more than 10,000 prisons since 2010. The justice secretary is concerned about this fight. More for saving his job than fighting crime.”
Operation Protect was previously launched between January 2007 – October 2008, as well as between October – December 2006 before that.
The Home Office of Tony Blair’s Labor government drafted the plan in response to the pressure from the large number who were being held.
It is operated under the Imprisonment – Temporary Sentences Act 1980, which allows prisoners on remand or sentenced by the courts to imprisonment to be kept in police cells.
According to the Justice Department, police cells will be used for as short a time as possible and “in a planned manner that is safe”.
The government has pledged to create additional 20,000 places, and the new HMP Fosse Way prison run by Serco is set to open next spring.
A spokesperson added: “Maintaining the safety of the public and stopping crime by keeping dangerous criminals off the streets remains our number one priority.
“We are seeing an unprecedented increase in the number of offenders entering prisons in the north of England, due in part to the impact of the pandemic and the barristers’ strike during the summer months.
“The public expects that we will take action to create the additional spaces needed, so we are working together with the police to use small numbers of cells in the near term so we can continue to hold offenders behind bars.”
Source link
[Denial of responsibility! wideworldmag.co.uk is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials, please contact us by email – at wideworldmag.co.uk The content will be deleted within 24 hours.]
