Prison governors have been warned that jails will be so overcrowded by the second week of July that they will struggle to accept any more inmates, plunging an incoming government into an immediate crisis. The heads of jails in England and Wales were informed by HM Prison and Probation Service officials earlier this month that data pointed to an “operational capacity breaking point” only days after the 4 July general election. The development signals a significant logistical headache for an incoming justice secretary.
It is expected to trigger Operation Early Dawn, a crisis measure that allows offenders to be housed in police cells when jails are full, while other measures can prompt magistrates courts to delay cases. The measures are in addition to a temporary government scheme under which prisoners can be released up to 70 days early. Tom Wheatley, the president of the Prison Governors Association, said: “We understand that we will no longer be able to receive prisoners from court in the second to third week of July.
It is not an exact science – but it is very soon after the election. “This position was projected some time ago. The outgoing government did not take the necessary action in a timely fashion to avoid this.
” Wheatley said any attempt to cram further offenders into prisons beyond the operational capacity could be challenged in the courts. “If a new government arrives and says: ‘We want more people in,’ it would be challenged in court by the PGA b.