In response to escalating prison overcrowding in Northern England, the government has enacted "Operation Early Dawn," an emergency measure aimed at preventing the system from reaching a breaking point. The plan, which allows defendants to be temporarily held in police cells rather than immediately transferring them to prisons, was activated on Monday morning, according to a statement from the Ministry of Justice.

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This measure has been implemented across key regions, including the North East, Yorkshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Manchester, Merseyside, and Cheshire, where the surge in rioter sentencing has exacerbated existing capacity issues. The operation will defer the summoning of defendants to magistrates’ courts until prison spaces become available, thereby easing pressure on the overcrowded facilities.

During a visit to Northern Ireland, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer addressed concerns over the potential public safety risks associated with Operation Early Dawn. Reporters questioned whether diverting policing resources to manage detained defendants, or the possibility of prisoners being bailed under these conditions, could compromise public safety. Starmer acknowledged the difficulty of the situation but stressed that the government was forced into this position due to the previous administration's failure to provide adequate prison capacity.

“These decisions are incredibly tough, and no one wants to take them," Starmer said at the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s training college in Belfast. "But they have become necessary because of the dire state of our prisons inherited from the last government. They simply did not have enough places for the number of prisoners being sentenced."

The Prime Minister also reassured the public that the government is committed to ensuring swift and firm justice. “We’ve taken tough decisions to ensure that those who commit disorder face the criminal justice system quickly," he added. However, he emphasised that the current challenges are a result of long-standing issues and not something his administration could have easily avoided.

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Critics have expressed concern that the measures could lead to public safety risks, particularly if policing resources are stretched too thin or if defendants are released on bail when they might otherwise be detained. The government, however, remains steadfast in its approach, arguing that the temporary measures are necessary to maintain order and manage the current crisis.

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