Magistrates told to delay sentencing to ease prison overcrowding

Overcrowding in British prisons has led to calls for magistrates to stop jailing criminals for several weeks to ease pressure.

One of the country's most senior judges, Lord Justice Green, has told magistrates to delay sentencing offenders likely to be jailed until at least September 10.

As reported in The Times, Green made the advisement in line with Justice Secrertary Shabana Mahmood's plans to release 2,000 prisoners early next month.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said the guidelines did not apply to high-risk offenders who were already on remand.

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They said in a statement: “The new government inherited a prisons crisis, and this is yet another sign of the pressures our justice system is facing. The changes coming into force in September will bring it under control.

“Independent judges decide when to schedule court hearings and do so in the interests of justice, including to ensure the effective operation of the criminal justice system.”

The advice did not apply to higher courts dealing with more serious criminal cases. About 2,000 prison places will be freed up under Labour’s early release scheme.

According to the government, the initiative will free up to 5,500 prison places in the longer term by moving the standard release date.

Prisoners who were previously eligible for release after serving 50% of their sentence could now go free after serving just 40% of time behind bars.

The new programme will not apply to violent offenders serving sentences of four years or more, or those convicted of domestic violence or sexual offences.

Magistrates handled more than 1.3 million cases last year, official figures showed.

Tom Franklin, chief executive of the Magistrates Association, said: “Another day, another sticking plaster to hold our crumbling justice system together.

“While this measure may be necessary in the short term, things can’t keep going on like this and we need a long-term plan and an injection of more resources at every stage of the justice process for recovery.

“We also need a grown-up discussion about the purpose of prison, and indeed other types of sentences such as community sentences.”

Mark Fairhurst, national chairman of the Prison Officers’ Association (POA), said: “POA members are the only people who have absolutely no involvement in the incarceration of individuals.

“We do not arrest, investigate, charge, convict or sentence. We will, however, stand ready to accept those who are sent to us by the courts.

“We can accommodate anyone who is convicted, so we see no reason why justice should be delayed.”

It comes days after emergency plans were greenlit in the North of England.

Operation Early Dawn, a long-standing plan that allows defendants to be held in police cells and not summoned to magistrates’ court until a space in prison is available, was activated on Monday morning.

Measures were announced in the North East and Yorkshire; Cumbria and Lancashire; and Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire regions.

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