Shortage of cells leads to fewer arrests

CRIMINALS are avoiding arrest because hundreds of custody suites have been shut down to save money.

Officers are often reluctant to detain a suspect because it might require a lengthy journey to a centre that can process them. In one example, most offenders arrested in Berwick-upon-Tweed are now taken to cells in Newcastle, 63 miles away.

Mark Jones, of the North Wales branch of the Police Federation, told the Sunday Times: ‘It is a huge consideration for officers when they’re weighing up whether to arrest someone or not.’