UK – The prison system in England is set to be thrown into a fresh crisis this week with scores of alleged criminals to be released on bail rather than taken to their court hearings.

The jailing of hundreds of rioters has pushed prisons towards full capacity forcing HM Prisons and Probation Service to prepare Operation Early Dawn, a contingency plan that prevents inmates being taken from police cells to courts, unless a prison place is available. Those who do go to court and are given jail sentences may find themselves sent to prison hundreds of miles away from home.

More than 300 people charged with offences linked to the disorder that broke out following the Southport attack have so far been remanded in custody, and the number is set to continue rising rapidly as police leaders vow to track down offenders for “as long as it takes”.

The Observer understands the prison operation is expected to start this week, having been used for several days in March when prison capacity previously hit critical levels. An internal document states that prison escort staff will make assessments throughout each day to check how many inmates being held by the police can be taken to scheduled court hearings, and how many will have to be released on bail and have their cases delayed because there is no space in jails.

Officials will triage the prisoners who are kept in police custody to prioritise as many as they can for court hearings according to the seriousness of their alleged crimes, and adjust plans according to new capacity information from across the prison estate. Sources say Operation Early Dawn is needed because a long-running contingency called Operation Safeguard, which sees prisoners held in up to 200 police cells for a night before they are moved into prison custody, is becoming exhausted. Mark Fairhurst, national chair of the Prison Officers’ Association, said there were only 340 spaces left in adult male prisons that are able to receive rioters. (The Guardian)…[+]