Plans to use 400 police cells to combat overcrowding in prisons have been condemned by Staffordshire Police Federation.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said prisoners could be held in police stations to reduce acute and sudden overcrowding in jails.
It comes after an unprecedented increase in the number of offenders coming into prisons in the north of England.
But Staffordshire Police Federation chair Lee Robinson warned the move would place police officers, prisoners and members of the public at risk.
He said: “Police cells are not prison cells and police officers are not trained to be prison officers and yet here we are again being asked to take on more work we are not qualified to do.
“It is no surprise that our members feel taken for granted when they are asked to perform the roles of social workers, mental health specialists, ambulance drivers and now prison officers - and are then criticised for not tackling crime quickly enough!”
Lee said the decision was ill-conceived and unfair on prisoners and police officers alike.
He said: “Some prisoners will have mental health issues and need to be properly cared for and supported by fully trained professionals, not police officers.
“It seems totally unfair to put officers and prisoners in this position and I think this has to be looked at again.”
Lee said there were also serious questions over the use of force and what powers the police would have when faced with a volatile situation.
“Our members are going to be exposed to unnecessary risks doing a job they are not trained for,” he said.
“They are going to be taken off the streets and away from their communities at a time when their workload is already unsustainable and the Force over-stretched and under-resourced.
“It puts our members and the public in danger, reduces the capacity of our police officers to protect the public and represents a short-term fix to a long-term problem.”
The MoJ said the public would “rightly expect us to take the action necessary to create the extra spaces we need” and that “keeping the public safe and cutting crime by taking dangerous criminals off the streets remains our number one priority”.
Deputy Chief Constable Nev Kemp, who leads the NPCC’s work on custody, said contingency plans were in place to launch the temporary measure as safely and efficiently as possible.
He said: “Policing will continue to conduct its operational business, arrest criminals, and secure them in custody, with well-established plans in place for prisoners to be placed in neighbouring force custody suites should the need arise.”
