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full screen Archive image from Huntercombe prison near Henley-on-Thames in England. Photo: AP/TT
Hundreds have been sentenced in connection with this summer’s violent riots in Britain. Now the Labor government is taking emergency measures to prevent prisons in the north of the country from becoming overcrowded.
The accused will now be held in police custody pending court proceedings. Only when there is room for them in prison will they be called to court.
In addition, the time that sentenced prisoners must serve before they can be considered for early release is shortened. In practice, it paves the way for thousands of convicted Britons to be released in the near future.
Prisons Minister James Timpson states that the government has been forced into “difficult but necessary decisions” to ensure that the justice system continues to function.
Around 700 people have been arrested and 300 have been charged in connection with this summer’s violent riots in several British cities. The unrest, largely fueled by far-right circles, followed the murders of three girls in Southport, north of Liverpool, in July. As a result, pressure on prisons in England and Wales increased.
But British prisons have already struggled with overcrowding caused by a growing population, stricter sentencing guidelines and a tight budget. Similar emergency measures were temporarily imposed in May by the then Conservative government.