Police are told to make fewer arrests to save space in packed jails

Police have been told to make fewer arrests to save space in overcrowded prisons, it was reported last night.

A leaked memo by the National Police Chiefs' Council has advised Chief Constables to consider putting off 'non-priority arrests' and to suspend operations that would see a 'large number of arrests'.

Sources described non-urgent arrests as cases where operations could be arranged for a later date, such as investigating CCTV footage or forensics.

It comes as British prisons face an overcrowding crisis, triggered by the backlog in court cases, barristers strikes and tougher sentencing laws.

In the last recorded year, the prison population increased by 5,200 as capacity in England and Wales became overstretched.