Suspected criminals could be set free on bail instead of heading to jail after the government activated an emergency measure to delay court hearings due to prison overcrowding.
The Ministry of Justice triggered Operation Early Dawn on Tuesday, to stop some defendants from being brought to court for their expected hearings.
The measure, which expected to cause disruption to magistrates courts across England, has been activated due to a lack of prison places.
If a jail cell is not available, a suspect in police custody whose case has been assessed as “low priority” could be held for longer in police custody, or set free on bail to appear in court at a later date.
The emergency measure comes after the government separately agreed to cut short some prison sentences by up to 70 days, also to ease overcrowding.
It is understood Operation Early Dawn was previously activated earlier this year at some courts in England. It is designed to avoid defendants being remanded in custody by courts, only for them to be stuck on a prison van with no jail cell to be transferred to.
The Criminal Law Solicitors Association said lawyers will be left in limbo this week, not knowing if they have a hearing to attend or not.
"We are appalled of the state of our criminal justice system and have been campaigning on this from our inception and whilst we recognise the need for some action, this is a symptom of a systemic problem caused by more than 40 years of neglect of our criminal justice system."
The body advised its members to consider not attending magistrates court until they have received confirmation that their client is due to appear.
This would, it said, “ avoid wasted trips and extended waiting at court at a time when the criminal legal aid sector lacks the capacity to deal with increased volumes of work as a result of decades of underfunding.”
Shabana Mahmood MP, the Shadow Justice Secretary, reacted to the news by saying: “The Tories continue to make major and unprecedented changes to the justice system without so much as a word to the public. It’s completely unacceptable and the public will be alarmed at this latest panic measures.
“The government is stalling justice and leaving victims in limbo because of the mess they have created.
“It is astonishing that lawyers and witnesses, let alone the public, are none the wiser on which cases will actually be affected – how many people will be let out on bail when they should have been remanded, and how will the government ensure public safety is not compromised?
“This is no way to run the justice system, and it is certainly no way to run the country.”
It is expected Operation Early Dawn will be in place for the rest of the week, when the situation will be reassessed.
“We have asked the Ministry of Justice for more information to understand the full implications of this emergency measure,” said Law Society of England and Wales president Nick Emmerson.
“Victims, witnesses, defendants and lawyers will today turn up at magistrates’ courts across England only to find out that their cases have been delayed due to a crisis in prison and police cell capacity outside of their control. As of now, we understand that this pattern will be repeated every day that this emergency measure is in place.
“What is crystal clear is the prison spaces crisis is a consequence of the government’s approach to justice including over a decade of underfunding of our criminal justice system, which also sees chronic shortages of judges and lawyers, huge backlogs of cases and crumbling courts.”
The Magistrates Association echoed concerns about the measure, and said its members have also been left in the dark.
“We have seen the reports that the Lord Chancellor is implementing an emergency measure, Operation Early Dawn, to deal with prison overcrowding by delaying the cases in magistrates’ courts”, said chief executive Tom Franklin.
“We are very concerned about these further delays being imposed on cases reaching magistrates’ courts. Every case that is delayed has real-life consequences for victims, witnesses and defendants – and leads to magistrates and court staff sitting around waiting, rather than administering justice. That is a waste of resources, at a time when there are already large backlogs.
“It demonstrates the parlous state of the criminal justice system and the need for an injection of more resources at every stage of the justice process.
“It is also alarming that the amount of information on this is scant. Neither the Magistrates’ Association nor magistrates have been informed about this.”
From next week, low-risk prisoners are set to be released up to 70 days early from their sentences in another measure designed to ease overcrowding.
A Ministry of Justice (MoJ) spokesperson said: “This Government is categorical that the most dangerous offenders should stay behind bars for longer, which is why new laws will keep rapists locked up for every day of their prison sentence and ensure life means life for the most horrific murderers.
“We continue to see pressure on our prisons following the impact of the pandemic and barristers’ strike which is why we have initiated a previously used measure to securely transfer prisoners between courts and custody and ensure there is always a custody cell available should they be remanded."
The MoJ added that the prison service is taking decisions on whether jail places are available, while decisions on bail would be taken by the magistrates, judges, and police officers, not the government.
