Police cells to house inmates

Prisoners possibly housed in police cells could be serving inmates

Four police forces across England have been asked to go on stand-by to hold inmates in their cells because jails are so overcrowded.

The measures are being taken as part of Operation Safeguard - a contingency plan introduced when the numbers in prisons creep close to capacity.

Latest prison figures released on Friday show there are 74,429 - an increase of more than 2,000 on the same time last year.

The four forces - Greater Manchester, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire and West Midlands - have so far not taken any prisoners from jails.

It is because there is no immediate prospect of accommodating all prisoners in prison service accommodation Home Office spokeswoman

A spokeswoman for the Home Office told BBC News Online that in the first instance 160 cells were being asked to be made available across the four forces - but this could rise to 500.

A similar contingency plan was used for a six-month period between July and December last year.

'Not ideal circumstances'

The spokeswoman said that the prisoners would not be limited to those on remand.

But she said it was likely to be male adult inmates, rather than females or juveniles and no prisoners where there was a possible high risk to security.

"It is because there is no immediate prospect of accommodating all prisoners in prison service accommodation," said the Home Office spokeswoman.

She said it was not "ideal circumstances".

"In an ideal world prison cells would hold all these people," she said.

Designated stations

Under Operation Safeguard the Prison Service keeps in touch with police forces as a contingency plan for overcrowding situations, she added.

A spokeswoman for West Midlands Police said it had a standing arrangement with the Home Office and Prison Service and had designated stations to accommodate remand prisoners only.

"That is in common with other police forces and does not compromise other operational needs in terms of prisoners," she added.

Greater Manchester Police said it had been approached with a view to provide accommodation for prisoners in the area if it is necessary.

"A decision has not yet been made as to whether accommodation will be offered," said a spokeswoman.

A spokesman for Staffordshire Police said the force had been on stand-by, but was not aware that this status had been requested again.

A Nottinghamshire Police spokeswoman said it was not aware any such request had been confirmed by the Prison Service.