POLICE bosses who have told officers to make fewer arrests due to a lack of space in prisons and bulging court backlogs have been blasted.
A letter from the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) circulated last week urges chief constables to think about ‘pausing’ so-called ‘non-priority arrests’.
It also suggests halting planned operations where a large number of arrests could take place to ‘ease the pressure within the criminal justice system’.
The government said the impact of the pandemic and barristers’ strike was putting pressure on jails, but Labour blamed Conservative mismanagement.
Barnsley North candidate Dan Jarvis said: “Arrests have halved since 2010 and yet the police are now being told to make even fewer arrests.
“This highlights the truly shameful state of law and order in our country after 14 years of Conservative government, with more criminals let off and more victims let down.
“Labour will use emergency powers to build the new prisons we desperately need, stop criminals being released months early as a result of prison overcrowding, and take back our streets.”
