Greater Manchester will be one of the areas of the country where Operation Early Dawn to relieve pressure on prisons added to by the arrests of hundreds of rioters will be activated
The move will mean that defendants waiting to appear in court in England will be kept in police cells until prison space is available, or could even be released on bail while their trial is put off.
Prisons and Probation Minister, Lord Timpson, said:
We inherited a justice system in crisis and exposed to shocks. As a result, we have been forced into making difficult but necessary decisions to keep it operating.
However, thanks to the hard work of our dedicated staff and partners, we have brought forward additional prison places and now introduced Operation Early Dawn to manage the pressure felt in some parts of the country.
The police have reassured the public that this will not impact their ability to arrest criminals, and anyone who poses a risk to the public will not be bailed.
Besides Manchester, The operation will North East and Yorkshire, Cumbria and Lancashire and Merseyside and Cheshire.
