Police 'won't chase wanted criminals because jails are full'
LABOUR’S prisons crisis has led to police failing to round up wanted criminals, it was claimed yesterday.
As overcrowding hit a new record, prison officers accused the police of delaying execution of warrants for offenders
who face immediate custody because there are no cells available to hold them.
This could mean convicted offenders, escaped prisoners and bail jumpers are remaining at large, at a risk to the public.
The warning came as prison numbers broke the 83,000 mark for the first time. The system is only saved from breaking point because there are up to 400 cells available in police stations.
In a separate blow, foreign prisoners serving even the shortest of sentences will have yet more time slashed off their punishment in a desperate bid to clear cells.
The Government has also drawn up plans to release 550 non-violent and non-sexual offenders.
They will be automatically freed halfway through their sentences, instead of having to wait until the two thirds point. The scheme will begin on June 9.
Colin Moses, chairman of the Prison Officers’ Association, said: “I often ask myself, how many custodial warrants are outstanding, because as a prison place is available a prisoner appears.
“So are the public really safe or are the police only executing warrants dependent on prison and police cell spaces?
“We currently have serious staff shortfalls throughout the service and as new places become available they are immediately filled. This is placing staff and prisoners under tremendous pressure.” Liberal Democrat spokesman David Howarth said: “The Prison Officers’ Association’s concern shows how chaotic the system has become.
“The punishment should fit the crime and not be based on the ever-decreasing availability of cells.”
An increasingly desperate Jack Straw has approved an extension of the so-called Early Removal Scheme, allowing even lighter sentences for most foreign criminals. It means a foreign criminal handed a two-month term could serve just 15 days. They are then simply sent home and do not have to stay on licence or be tagged.
But shadow Justice Secretary Nick Herbert said: “Without proper border controls there will be nothing to stop foreign criminals from immediately returning to Britain.”
Last night there were two other warnings on the jails crisis. Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers, said: “All those working in the prison system know that it is operating very close to the edge.”
Former Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf added: “I do not think that prisons will blow up tomorrow or next week but there is certainly a danger of that.”
