Making a bad situation even worse, the violence that struck the UK back in July has pushed Britain's entire justice system close to breaking point.

‌The scenes of violent disorder on Britain's streets resulted in a whole raft of new criminal cases being pushed through the courts after the country's new Labour government demanded tough sentences for the rioters.

Operation Early Dawn

‌The spike in prisoner numbers has forced the UK prime minister to activate a longstanding emergency action plan called Operation Early Dawn.‌ The plan allows defendants to be held in police custody, even though they won't be able to appear in court until a prison space is available.

‌The government says it will also temporarily cut the time needed to be served before parole, from 50 to 40 percent of a sentence. This could result in up to 5,500 prisoners being released in September and October.

‌UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says his government had to act swiftly.

‌"I hope we've been able to demonstrate, we've taken tough decisions," he said. "We've been able to prove that if you commit disorder, you can expect to be put through the criminal justice system quickly. And we will continue in that vein."‌

While the emergency powers cover prisons in the Midlands and the north of England, the overcrowding crisis is affecting detention centers all over the country.

‌One such prison is Wormwood Scrubs in London. Since 2010 it has been running at over 100 percent capacity for all but three years, a situation that's being repeated across the UK.

 

‌Former inmate says system is broken

‌CGTN Europe spoke to former inmate Chris Baker, who said the entire system was failing.

‌"When I started in Lowden Grange (prison), everyone's in a single cell there but what they started to do was give you money if you would bang up together, they would reward you to go in together to make more spaces," he explained.

"The system is undoubtedly broken because I feel like it doesn't focus enough on what's causing these people to break the law. In prison a lot of people I've noticed have gone through childhood trauma and yet they never ever get the help or support to deal with that before coming out. It's just a system where people keep going back and forth and that's why reoffending rates are so high."‌

The Labour government has promised to spend over $5 billion on new prisons to alleviate the current overcrowding crisis.

‌However, many experts believe an overhaul of the entire criminal justice system is needed if there is to be any meaningful change for the better.

Subscribe to Storyboard: A weekly newsletter bringing you the best of CGTN every Friday