Every day's a school day, so they say. I have to be honest that until someone tweeted about this earlier I had never heard of Operation Early Dawn.
Be that as it may, this morning the Ministry of Justice has pushed the start button on the latest initiative to streamline the flow of cases between the police station, Magistrates' Court and prison.
In case anyone hadn't heard, we've got a bit of a problem in the prison estate of England and Wales - there's simply no cell space left the accommodate those sentenced to immediate custody for offences at the less severe end of the spectrum.
Of course they will always find room for the murderers and rapists of this world, but accommodating persistent shop thieves and first-time burglars is a bit of a lower priority at the moment.
Don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of prison - particularly for the short-term custodial sentences that the Magistrates' Court often imposes.
However, those sentences are already reserved for the most serious or prolific of offenders, generally where they have had several failed opportunities to address their behaviour and all other sentencing options have been exhausted.
In those rare cases where the court determines that immediate custody is needed - and we're only talking 3 or 4 percent of all cases dealt with by the Magistrates' Court - then the court must have the confidence and ability to impose such a sentence.
It is a total myth, propagated entirely for political reasons, that the Magistrates' Court is sending offenders into custody left, right and centre - that simply is not the case.
As I said, I am not a fan of prison. I do not think it works particularly well, but sometimes it is the only option. It is a not a place you send an offender seeking rehabilitation, but is a necessary evil when they have refused to engage with community-based alternatives.
As no politician is likely to have the bottle to say it, let me instead: If we don't have enough prison capacity to meet our needs, then we need to increase it.
Of course it would be lovely if we could somehow wave a magic wand and address offender behaviour, so that fewer reoffended and fewer required custody in the first place.
However, with an ever-burgeoning population the prison estate is yet another piece of essential infrastructure that is failing to keep pace with growing demand.
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