Cells are so crowded 'police turn a blind eye to minor criminals'

Police cells are so full in the capital that officers on the beat are not arresting minor criminals, it's been claimed today.

A last-resort Home Office scheme to house inmates in police stations is having a disastrous knock-on effect.

Almost 1,100 prisoners have been held in London police cells in the past nine months because of the prisons overcrowding crisis.

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Met police sources said the force is already "desperately short" of cells, leaving beat police with a choice between setting suspects free or travelling to neighbouring boroughs or counties to find a cell.

A source said: "There is evidence of Pcs either turning a blind eye, or giving warnings to minor criminals because they do not want to arrest them."

Eight police stations across London hold up to 80 prisoners at a time under the scheme, known as Operation Safeguard. They are in Kensington, Catford, Orpington, Harrow Road, Brentford, Hornchurch, Barnet and Whetstone.

An average of more than 90 prisoners a week have been placed in them since the Home Office operation was launched - the equivalent of one prisoner every two hours since November.

Figures show that, for example, on 22 January, all of Catford's 12 cells were filled by prisoners. Anyone arrested in the area that day would have to have been housed elsewhere, according to figures from The Evening Standard.

The inmates, people on remand from court or prisoners who were handed custodial sentences, are usually held for one night.

Local officers are drafted in to do overtime to guard prisoners. The Home Office is paying the police around £385 per prisoner per day as part of the deal. The total cost will run into the millions.

Operation Safeguard was used between July and December 2002 and cost £10.4 million. Only 275 prisoners were locked in police cells then.

The statistics were obtained by the London Assembly Liberal Democrats. Dee Doocey, their policing spokesperson, said: "These figures show that the criminal justice system is not working."