The launch of an emergency plan to avoid prison overcrowding in England could be announced as soon as Monday, the Prison Officers’ Association has said.
The longstanding measure, known as Operation Early Dawn, would allow defendants to be held in police cells until prison beds became available and could mean their court dates are delayed or adjourned at short notice.
Mark Fairhurst, the national chairman of the POA, said the measure risked “clogging up police cells” and he blamed rioters for increasing the pressure on prisons.
The Observer revealed over the weekend that the prison operation was expected to start this week, having also been used for several days in March, when prison capacity hit critical levels.
Fairhurst told BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House on Sunday: “Last week we had the biggest influx of new receptions I’ve seen for quite some time. We had 397 new receptions. As of Friday we only had 340 spaces left in the adult closed male estate, which is feeling the most pressure.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point tomorrow morning the Ministry of Justice would announce that Operation Early Dawn kicks in to play at some point next week, probably Tuesday onwards.
“The pinch points at the moment are the north-east and the north-west, so it’s likely that if you commit an offence in those areas you will be carted 100, 200 miles away from home to serve your sentence because there’s simply very few spaces.”
An internal document said prison escort staff would make assessments each day to check how many people being held by police could be taken to scheduled court hearings, be released on bail or have their cases delayed.
Operation Early Dawn was last triggered by the Conservative government in May.
Last week Downing Street confirmed that rioters jailed for taking part in the violent disorder after the Southport stabbing attack could be released early due to the prison overcrowding crisis.
Separately, the government has urged people who have zombie knives and machetes to “do the right thing” and hand them in to police. The policing minister, Diana Johnson, said people who did so would face no repercussions.
From 24 September, zombie-style knives and machetes will be added to a list of prohibited dangerous items that also includes butterfly knives, samurai swords and push daggers.
Johnson said: “There is no legitimate need for a weapon of this kind to be in our homes or on our streets. That is why we will continue to make sure the tightest restrictions are in place to limit the availability of these lethal weapons.
“Implementing a ban on zombie-style knives is just the first step in our ambitious, dedicated plan to halve knife crime within a decade, and will closely be followed by making ninja swords illegal.
“We cannot do this alone; political, policing and community leaders must work together to bring the knife crime epidemic to an end and offer a better future for our young people.”