Defendants will now be held in police custody pending court hearings. They will only be called to court when there is space for them in prison.
Furthermore, the time that convicted prisoners must serve before they can be eligible for early release will be shortened. In practice, this paves the way for thousands of convicted Britons to be released in the near future.
Justice Minister James Timpson states that the government has been forced to make "tough but necessary decisions" to ensure that the justice system continues to function.
Around 700 people have been arrested and 300 have been charged in connection with the summer's violent riots in several British cities. The unrest, largely driven by right-wing extremist circles, followed the murders of three girls in Southport north of Liverpool in July. As a result, the pressure on prisons in England and Wales increased.
However, British prisons were already struggling with overcrowding caused by a growing population, stricter sentencing guidelines, and a tightened budget. Similar emergency measures were temporarily introduced in May by the then-conservative government.
