The move to jail swiftly those who took part in riots this month played a vital part in ending the violence. Yet it also had the unavoidable effect of adding further strain to this country’s overcrowded prisons and under-pressure criminal justice system.
As a result, an emergency measure to prevent prisons overflowing has been activated. Operation Early Dawn, previously triggered in May, allows defendants to be released on bail, rather than taken to a court hearing, should no prison space be available. The plan has been implemented in the North East and Yorkshire; Cumbria and Lancashire; the East and West Midlands and Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire.
