'Try not to jail criminals over the next few weeks' magistrates told amid prison crisis

Magistrates have been asked to stop jailing criminals over the next few weeks - to ease pressure on overcrowded prisons following rioting.

One of the most senior judges in England and Wales has contacted courts asking them to postpone sentencing hearings until September 10. That's the day the Government's early release scheme comes into place, easing the huge pressure on jails.

Earlier this week ministers were forced to trigger an emergency operation in parts of England allowing defendants to be kept in police cells to ease the crisis. The arrest of more than 1,600 people in connection with riots over the last three weeks has pushed the prison service to breaking point.

Now Lord Justice Nicholas Green, who sits on the Court of Appeal and is the deputy senior presiding judge for England and Wales, has issued a "listing direction" to court managers, The Times reports. This called for cases where a criminal is likely to be jailed to be postponed. The Ministry of Justice said this does not apply to high-risk offenders already on remand.

From next month, some inmates will be freed after serving 40% of their sentences, down from 50%. The Government says this will free up around 2,000 places in the short term, rising to 5,500 in the future.

The MoJ said in a statement: "The new Government inherited a prisons crisis, and this is yet another sign of the pressures our justice system is facing. The changes coming into force in September will bring it under control.

"Independent judges decide when to schedule court hearings and do so in the interests of justice, including to ensure the effective operation of the criminal justice system." The advice does not apply to higher courts dealing with more serious criminal cases.

The early release programme will not apply to violent offenders serving sentences of four years or more, or those convicted of domestic violence or sexual offences.

Tom Franklin, chief executive of the Magistrates' Association, said: "Another day, another sticking plaster to hold our crumbling justice system together. While this measure may be necessary in the short term, things can't keep going on like this and we need a long-term plan and an injection of more resources at every stage of the justice process for recovery.

"We also need a grown-up discussion about the purpose of prison, and indeed other types of sentences such as community sentences."

Law Society of England and Wales president Nick Emmerson said: "This is another clear indicator of the scale of the crisis in our justice system and there are no easy solutions after decades of neglect. The Government and judiciary are having to make difficult choices to try to mitigate the emergency in the short term.

"An urgent injection of funding is needed across our justice system. Otherwise, justice will continue to be delayed for victims and defendants. Unless investment is forthcoming to ensure we have a functioning justice system, victims will continue to lose faith and deterrence for criminals will diminish."

It comes days after emergency plans were greenlit in the North of England. Operation Early Dawn, a long-standing plan that allows defendants to be held in police cells and not summoned to magistrates' court until a space in prison is available, was activated on Monday morning.

Measures were announced in the North East and Yorkshire; Cumbria and Lancashire; and Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire regions.