Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to announce emergency plans to allow thousands of prisoners out of jail early to prevent civil disorder across the country
Criminals could be looting on the streets with police unable to arrest them as prisons are set to run out of space in six weeks.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is on Friday expected to announce emergency plans to allow thousands of prisoners out of jail early to prevent civil disorder across the country. Prisons could be full by the August Bank Holiday if drastic action is not taken to free up space.
There are just 700 places left in adult male prisons, with more than 83,000 men locked up. The prisons service classifies itself as “operationally in trouble” when fewer than 300 spaces are left and it needs a minimum of 1,425 spaces to operate smoothly.
If jails are full, the only safe place to keep offenders is police cells. But a senior police source has warned that police stations would run out of cells within three days.
They said this would lead to a “completely intolerable” situation in which officers have nowhere to take people they arrest. It is understood there are fears criminals could take advantage of the situation and commit crimes such as looting.
“If those prisoners aren’t collected, we very quickly will run out of space in police cells,” the source said. “So many forces we estimate would run out of space in about three days or less. And clearly that is a situation that is completely intolerable, because you would get to the point where arresting officers wouldn’t have anywhere to take people they’re arresting.
“That would very quickly become evident. And of course, then that in itself may impact on behaviour of the public and particularly criminals. So that would be a very serious situation to get into, unchartered territory, and we need to avoid that at all costs.”
In a speech at a prison on Friday, Ms Mahmood is expected to criticise the Tories for leaving the criminal justice system in a terrible state. She is poised to announce plans for prisoners serving less than four years to be automatically released after as little as 40% of their sentences - instead of 50% at present. The measure will give probation staff more notice of prisoners’ release dates than the Tories’ temporary early release scheme which saw offenders released up to 70 days early at a moment’s notice.
Keir Starmer on Thursday confirmed there will be exemptions when asked how he can guarantee dangerous prisoners won’t be put on the streets if he goes ahead with the plan. “Of course, we’ll have exemptions in place in relation to high risk prisoners as you would expect,” he told reporters.
Criminals convicted of violent, sexual or terror-related offences are expected to be exempt from early release. The Prime Minister said it was “grossly irresponsible” for the government to “leave this mess” where there are not enough prison places. Labour has also said it will review sentencing guidelines in the longer term.
A senior prison source said: “If nothing was done, I would be professionally very ,very worried by the August Bank Holiday." They suggested space could run out even sooner than that if a crisis happens in a prison.
“We’re very vulnerable to shocks in the estate,” they said. “That can be big, high profile shocks, like you know about like the 2011 civil disorder, like a prison riot or it could actually be much more mundane things like an outbreak of bedbugs that would require us to close the wing, and fumigate it for two or three weeks.”
Former Conservative Justice Secretary Alex Chalk urged Labour to go ahead with the early release plan but warned Ms Mahmood the move "will buy you 18 months, but it won’t buy you any more than that. You have to, as the new Justice Secretary, be very frank and credible about the long term".
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