Ministers aiming to limit emergency police detention

Asked about the maximum length of time someone would be held in a police cell rather than being sent to court, Ms Stevens told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Anyone who poses a risk to the public will obviously not be bailed, they will be held in a police station until they’re summoned to court and that should be no later than the day after being charged.”

Phil Jones, custody lead for the Police Federation of England and Wales, said police cells were “not suitable to be used for any great length of time”.

“Although police officers are highly skilled and trained, they’re not prison officers, and prison officers have really specific training around detainee welfare and the needs of prisoners,” he told Today.

“If we have a sustained period of time where prisoners are in police cells, then there could be a situation moving forward where we don’t have the capacity in the system to do business as usual.”

There have been warnings the emergency measure could clog up police cells and limit the ability to arrest people.

However, the National Police Chiefs Council, an umbrella group for senior officers, has insisted police will continue to arrest anyone they need to in order to keep the public safe.

Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, someone should be brought before a magistrates’ court at the next available sitting after they are charged with an offence, which is usually the same or next day.

However, the Law Society, which represents solicitors in England and Wales, has said many magistrates’ court cases will be delayed if there must be a prison cell available, impacting victims as well as defendants.