Charles Clark today announced that the police were being asked to solve the nation's prison crisis.  "After all" said the Home Secretary, "it's their fault.  They should be the ones to fix it."  Under new Home Office guidlines police forces will be given a quota of criminals that they are allowed to pass through to the country's courts.  The police authorities will be fined for every criminal convicted over the con count cap.

Sir Ian Blair claimed that this was a tough target that many metropolitan areas will find it difficult to meet.  "We are attempting to reduce the number of criminals that we send to the courts, but if we have to have an enquiry every time we shoot a suspect, it becomes less cost-effective."

A spokesman for the Isle of Man welcomed the move.  "We have a cap of 100 and our policeman arrested 3 people in the last year.  We are currently negotiating to rent our quota to Liverpool".

Amongst fears that police would just let criminals roam free rather than exceed their prisoner cap, the Home Office announced the setting-up of an ombudsman, whose office would be known as OfCon.  If police do not attend the scene of a crime within 6 weeks, members of the public are engouraged to contact OfCon.  Within minutes of the number being announced, OfCon's switchboard broke down under the weight of calls.