The scheme was announced on the evening of 14 May and implemented from the following morning. Some suspects are being bailed rather than held in custody, as their trial is put off, with victims, witnesses and lawyers arriving at magistrates’ courts to discover their case has been postponed.
On the eve of the scheme’s implementation, the Criminal Law Solicitors Association issued an emergency message warning its members that many magistrates’ courts would be delayed due to a triage process for defendants being transferred from police custody suites to the magistrates’ courts. It said: ‘We understand SERCO will do the triage and priority will be given to defendants in the mist serious cases.’. It advised its members to await confirmation their client would be in court before attending, where possible, to avoid wasted trips or long waits at court.
Alex Chalk, the Lord Chancellor, triggered the emergency measure to free up prison cells as overcrowding reaches a tipping point. No official end-date has been set.
A Ministry of Justice (MoJ) spokesperson said: ‘We continue to see pressure on our prisons following the impact of the pandemic and barristers’ strike which is why we have initiated a previously used measure to securely transfer prisoners between courts and custody and ensure there is always a custody cell available should they be remanded.’
However, Sam Townend KC, Bar Chair, retorted: ‘To blame the Bar for this, as the MoJ’s statement seems to, is wrong.
‘Covid and the Criminal Bar action happened in the past. It is how you respond to it that is the test for government. Operation Early Dawn is just one symptom of the chronic lack of investment in the criminal justice system for so long, along with up to 70-day early release of prisoners, the average time to trial now at a year, and the backlogs worsening.
‘We cannot continue like this. With reducing numbers of guilty pleas and victims of crime giving up on criminal cases, the government must now show that it takes criminal justice seriously.’
Townend said ‘real and sustained investment in prisons, courts, judges, solicitors and barristers is needed and now’.
Criminal justice charity Revolving Doors, which focuses on addressing drivers of crime such as substance misuse and trauma, also criticised Operation Early Dawn. CEO Pavan Dhaliwal said: ‘The government's measures only serve to exacerbate the chaos and uncertainty faced by both many vulnerable people awaiting trial, keeping them trapped in police cells without clarity on what is going to happen to them and delaying the potential for accessing appropriate support, and also for victims awaiting justice.
‘Such stopgap measures will not address the challenges facing our overwhelmed justice system. We call on the government to instead provide a long-term plan to tackle the overcrowding crisis which includes the presumption against short sentences.’
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