The Metropolitan Police has refused to follow new advice to make fewer arrests in a row over the prison overcrowding crisis.
Dame Lynne Owens, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, told The Times the force would “never agree to pausing any necessary arrests”.
Her comments follow revelations in The Times that chief constables were advised to consider pausing “non-priority arrests” and to suspend operations that may trigger “large numbers of arrests” until there is enough capacity in prisons across England and Wales.
Owens said the Met would not change its operational work and officers “will not hesitate” to arrest suspects and seek their detention in custody.
Her comments were echoed by other senior policing figures. One senior source hit out at the National Police Chiefs’
