Prisoners could be held in police cells in a bid to reduce “acute and sudden” overcrowding in jails.
Justice minister Damian Hinds told MPs the Government has asked to use 400 police cells to hold inmates after a surge in overcrowding in male prisons over the last few months – the “first time ever” such a rapid increase has occurred. It comes after there was an “unprecedented increase” in the number of offenders coming into prisons in the north of England, according to the Ministry of Justice.
In a statement in the Commons on Wednesday, he said: “In recent months we have experienced an acute and sudden increase in the prison population, in part due to the aftermath of the Criminal Bar Association strike action over the summer, which led to a significantly higher number of offenders on remand. With court hearings resuming, we are seeing a surge in offenders coming through the criminal justice system, placing capacity pressure on adult male prisons in particular.”
