Prisoners could serve parts of their sentences in cells at police stations in Greater Manchester as part of a national drive to reduce 'acute and sudden' overcrowding in jails, the Manchester Evening News can reveal.
Greater Manchester Police - GMP - has revealed it has 'agreed to support' the proposals and has offered to 'supply a small number of cells across the custody suites maintained within our force to assist in housing inmates from the prison estate'. The exact numbers of prisoners, or the locations of police stations, has not been confirmed, but GMP said 'all forces' have been approached by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
The news comes after it was revealed council bosses in Manchester are lobbying the Government to shut Strangeways prison - HMP Manchester - and move it out of the city, saying the Victorian jail was coming to the end of its natural lifespan' and not suitable for the 'significant remodelling and expansion' needed to bring it up to modern-day standards.
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The justice minister, Damian Hinds, has previously said 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 happened.
It comes after there was an 'unprecedented increase' in the number of offenders coming into prisons in the north, according to the MoJ. Critics, however, said the problem could have been predicted and that the decision paints a picture of a Government in chaos.
In a statement in the Commons on Wednesday, Mr Hinds 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."
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"I'm announcing today that we've written to the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to request the temporary use of up to 400 police cells through an established protocol known as Operation Safeguard."
Superintendent Glenn Jones, of GMP, told the M.E.N.: "All forces in England and Wales, including GMP, have been approached to provide cells to assist in housing inmates from the prison estate. As part of a national request, GMP has agreed to support this by offering to supply a small number of cells across the custody suites maintained within our force.
"I want to reassure members of the public in Greater Manchester that this agreement will not affect GMP’s commitment to providing the very best service possible.
"We are committed to keeping people safe as laid out by the Chief Constable in the Plan on a Page and have ensured that our efforts in taking positive action to protect victims and our communities in the form of arrests will continue without detriment should we be requested to facilitate and support this national operation."
The problem is 'specific' to male prisons but youth jails and women's prisons have 'ample capacity', Mr Hinds said as he stressed the country has 'not run out of prison places' and the emergency measures – which will provide the 'immediate additional capacity' needed – 'do not reflect a failure to plan ahead'.
Operation Safeguard is an 'established protocol' which has been used before in periods of 'high demand', including between 2006 and 2008, he said, but added: "There has also been this highly unusual acute short-term surge, increases of over 700, and then over 800 in the last two months.
"It is the first time ever we have seen that sort of increase for two consecutive months. There are a number of capacity increase options that we have but they are just not possible, they are not available in that short timeframe. At no point in the last five years have we had fewer than a thousand cells available across the entire prison estate," he told MPs.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “We are increasing staffing numbers by hiring 5,000 officers and boosting pay to at least £30,000. We’re also investing £550 million over the next three years to rehabilitate offenders by getting them off drugs and into training, work and stable accommodation."
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