Thames Valley Police chief points to increase in arrests amid prison overcrowding fears

On Tuesday (21 May), The Times reported that the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) was advising police chiefs to make fewer non-priority arrests to ease pressure on prisons in England and Wales.

Latest official Government data showed that there were only roughly 1,100 free prison cells across all the institutions in England and Wales. With many prisons at full capacity The Guardian reported that the Government had enacted Operation Safeguard.

As prisons have become overcrowded the newspaper reported that more and more inmates were being held in prison cells, putting additional pressure on forces throughout the country.

However, in a statement yesterday (22 May), Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Jason Hogg, said protecting local communities remained a ‘priority’ for the force.

He noted that most recent figures showed a 7 per cent increase in overall arrests across the policing area.

Chief Constable Hogg said: “We remain committed to the communities we serve by fighting crime and serving victims.

“We are aware of the pressures being faced across the wider criminal justice system, and we are working to support them as much as we possibly can.

“Our priority remains to protect our communities and I would like to reassure people across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, and Oxfordshire that we will continue to be proactive in arresting those who are suspected of committing crimes.

“In the last financial year we made almost over 30,000 arrests, an increase of over 7 per cent more than the previous year, resulting in more charges for crimes such as rape offences (increasing by 17.4 per cent) and drug trafficking (25 per cent increase).

“We continue to work hard and with our partners to bring more offenders to justice.”

The Times claimed that in the document it obtained from the NPCC, police bosses were told to pause “any planned operations where large numbers of arrests may take place”.

According to the newspaper the NPCC has also warned forces that people held in police cells for an extended period of time before their cases are transferred to a magistrates court, could sue the police.