Operational partnerships - Court escort service SOP (Q01l)

1. Summary of changes

1.1. The following changes have been made to this standard operating procedure (SOP) in January 2023 and the following changes were made:

• Court Escort Service updated to “SERCO”

2. What this procedure is about

2.1. This SOP provides agreed operating methods between Kent Police and The Court Escort Service (GEOamey).

Compliance with this SOP and any governing policy is mandatory.

3. Detail the procedure

3.1. SERCO are contracted to convey detainees as follows:

• from police stations in the force area to any Courts in England and Wales for any reason, to remain with them and take them to their places of custody, this includes the delivery of detainees for deportation to police stations at ports on the direction of the Court
• from one Court to another, to remain with and take them to their places of custody
• those arrested on warrant, from police stations in the force area to the issuing court. SERCO will need to be in possession of the Prisoner Escort Record (PER) at the time the detainee is collected
• to any Court to appear as witnesses, to remain with and take them to their places of custody
• returning captured prison absconders to prison
• delivery of detainees detained at police stations for appearance at Court outside the Kent force area
• “Court” means all Criminal and Civil Courts (except within Scotland)
• to prison following direction from a Court following a court appearance

3.2. The contractor shall be notified by custody staff of the numbers and locations of detainees who are required to appear at Court, no later than 4am on the day in question. This will usually be via the electronic “Book A Move” service.

3.3. Any special requirements that a detainee may have must be marked on the Digital Prisoner Escort Record (dPER).

3.4. No detainee will be collected wearing forensic suits or inappropriate footwear. Custody staff will provide suitable replacement clothing and durable footwear in cases where the detainee’s clothes have been seized for forensic examination.

3.5 In the rare event of paper copies of case papers being required, they are to be in a sealed bag, listed on the dPER - in the ‘additional information box’ section and endorsed for CPS only. On arrival at Court the papers will be signed over to CPS by SERCO staff.

3.6 SERCO will not be responsible for conveying:

• detainees considered by the police and prison authorities to be in the highest security categories. Responsibility for such detainees will remain with the police and Prison Services. SERCO may not refuse to take custody of a detainee on the grounds that it believes he/she should be so classified
• mentally disordered detainees from hospitals to Court or from Court to hospital. SERCO will, however, transport this category of detainee from Court to prison (to await a hospital place) where the warrant or hospital order so requires
• juvenile detainees to Courts from places of custody other than Prison Service establishments or police stations and from the Courts to places of custody other than Prison Service establishments or police stations
• Police production detainees

3.7 All detainees are to be medically fit to be conveyed to the court destination, contractually the escort can refuse to accept detainees who are deemed medically unfit, through injury and or drink/drugs, unless the Forensic Healthcare Practitioner has signed indicating that the detainee can be taken to Court and it is clear to the escort that the detainee can be conveyed.

3.8 The Home Office has advised the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) that the provisions of Code C, of the Code of Practice made under the provisions of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), do not apply to persons who are clearly in the custody/care of a Prison Custody Officer (PCO). The Custody officer, therefore, is not responsible or accountable. It is the policy of this force that no provisions of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 shall apply to the police when a detainee is in the custody of PCOs.

3.9 A Digital Prisoner Escort Record (dPER), Form 3425, is to be completed whenever a detainee is to be escorted from a police station to any other location.

3.10 All operational problems with the Court Escort Service should be brought to the attention of the Superintendent of Victim Justice and Custody at force headquarters (FHQ).

3.11. Detained persons to be produced before a Court (high risk):

• a detained person who has been charged and is to be taken before a Court for an application for a remand in custody for: murder or wounding with intent, but not cases where it concerns a single murder if either (a) the victim is a close member of the offender’s family, or common law partner, or (b) it is the result of a fight where there are no special features with each case taken on its own merits:
  • robbery where the detainee is a violent professional criminal, for example loaded firearms were used
  • rape or buggery where the offence involved exceptional violence and/or it was one of a series of offences
  • an offence under the Official Secrets Act which seriously threatens national security
  • any offences connected with terrorism
  • drug offences where the offender is considered to be a major criminal with substantial financial resources

3.12. All the above should be considered as being ‘high risk’ and must not be handed over to SERCO PCOs. Such detained persons must at all times be in the custody of police officers.

3.13. Custody staff will ensure that the Clerk to the Justices is advised as early as practicable and agreement reached on adequate security measures at Court for this and any subsequent hearings.

3.14. Once a detainee considered by the police to be ‘high risk’ is in the custody of the Prison Service, a committee at the Prison Service headquarters will assess the risk and may classify him/her as ‘Category A’, the highest risk.
 
3.15 Detained persons to be produced before a Court (non high risk) 
if during the normal sitting of a Court:

• a detained person has been charged and retained in police custody to be taken before the Court for an application for a remand in custody
• a person is arrested on a warrant issued by any Court, directing that he/she is to be taken to the next available sitting of that or another Court

The custody officer must ensure that the Clerk to the Justices is given details as soon as practicable. If the Court is in another petty sessions area the custody officer must ensure that SERCO Control Centre is telephoned immediately and advised that there is a detainee to go to the Court. If requested to do so he /she must ensure a Form 3420 ‘Detainee information’ is sent by fax or email to SERCO Control Centre, confirming the requirement. The custody staff should make contact with the relevant Court and Court listings and establish whether the Court will be able to hear the case. If the Court state that a hearing is possible SERCO should collect the detainee and produce them at the Court. The SERCO contract states: 'The contractor shall collect late detainees from police premises for delivery to the relevant Court when required by the police, provided that the Court is still sitting and the police have confirmed that the Court will deal with the case when the detainee arrives'.

3.16. The Court Clerk is duty bound to arrange a hearing, however if he/she considers it is too late in the day then he/she can postpone the hearing to the next arranged sitting of the Court. Where necessary a Paragraph 5 Warrant will be issued to provide a legal basis to hold the detainee longer.

3.17. If the Court is closed the custody officer must ensure that details are passed as soon as it is next open, or via locally agreed procedure for occasional Courts. If the Clerk does not agree to the hearing or later on a Court hearing is required for another detained person, the night duty custody officer must ensure that the “Book a Move” system is updated, to notify SERCO Control Centre before 4am on the day of the Court sitting.

3.18.  All property, where the law permits, is to be listed, bagged and recorded on the custody record and the seal numbers listed on the dPER. Cash and valuables must be bagged separately. Detainees are not to be in possession of any property, including cigarettes, etc. Medication is to be listed on the PER and handed to the escort officer. Asthma inhalers are permitted to be carried by the detainee subject to a risk assessment by the collecting officer.

3.19. When a PCO arrives to collect a detained person, the custody officer must:

• follow a similar procedure to handing over to a police escort
• write on the custody record the reason for the transfer
• hand him/her the detained person’s sealed property bag(s) and any prescribed medication (every effort should be made to prevent detainees having excessive amounts of property)
• tell the detained person that he/she is being transferred into the custody of a SERCO PCO
• if applicable, hand over a copy of a completed 1818K ‘Record of examination by a doctor’

3.20 If, before being handed over to a PCO, the custody officer has any doubt concerning a detainee's fitness to travel, he/she must be medically examined by the Forensic Healthcare Practitioner before the journey commences. If, after being handed over, the PCO has any doubt he/she will be responsible for arranging an examination by a doctor contracted by SERCO and any expenses.
 
3.21 Detainees received by the custody officer from detainee custody officers.

When receiving a detainee from a PCO, or an external contractor (GSL, Reliance) the custody officer or designated detention officer must:

• ensure that he/she is thoroughly searched
• ensure that the PCO hands over a completed copy of the dPER
• complete a police custody record or continue with the one which first authorised his/her detention (if his/her property is still in the sealed Kent Police bag, there is no additional property, and the seal is unbroken and the same recorded on the custody record, it need not be listed again)
• endorse the police custody record if the detainee shows any visible injuries or complains of any injury (it may be necessary to have him/her examined by a Forensic Healthcare Practitioner and have the cause of them investigated)
• tell the detainee that he/she is being transferred into police custody from the custody of a SERCO PCO, (PACE provisions apply)
• take over responsibility of administering any prescribed medication which is required by the detainee
• ensure that the cell and that part of the custody suite where he/she has been are examined and are physically secure, clean, tidy and undamaged (consideration should be given to prosecution in relation to any damage caused which is provable)

3.22 Meals

3.22.1. The custody officer must ensure that a detained person who is kept in custody overnight and handed over to a PCO in the morning, to be taken to Court cells, or kept in the police station custody suite cells:

• is washed
• has had breakfast or has been offered breakfast and declined
• is ready for collection by 08:00 hours. (If before this time SERCO are responsible for providing breakfast)

3.23 Arrest of persons in PCO custody

3.23.1. To ensure that such a person who is released by the Court does not go free, the following action must be taken by an officer who learns that a wanted person is in the custody of SERCO at Court:

• advise the Force Control Room (FCR) Inspector that a wanted person is at Court in the custody of SERCO
• give full details of the reason why he/she is wanted
• request that an officer(s) be sent to the Court to arrest the person

3.23.2. The FCR inspector must ensure that:

• a Storm record of the incident is created
• an officer(s) is briefed and sent to the Court to make the arrest.

3.23.3. The officer(s) sent to the Court to make the arrest must liaise with the PCOs at Court to affect the arrest. If it is anticipated that the wanted person is likely to be at Court for some time before being dealt with, the officer(s) must advise the FCR inspector and ask whether or not they should remain, or return at a specific time. This may need to be repeated more than once.  

3.23.4. The police must ensure that a detainee is assisted to secure his/her bail conditions, and ensure the PCO who has custody of him/her is advised if they are met, (or the Prison Governor if the detainee has already been conveyed to the remand prison).

3.23.5. It will be the responsibility of the Court to ensure that the police station where the Court is situated is supplied with a copy of the conditions of bail.
 
3.24 Incidents at Court

3.24.1. There will be occasions where a detainee is considered a security risk and a request made that he/she remains handcuffed whilst at court. The reasons for consideration will be recorded by the officer in the case in box 5 of the PER and this will be brought to the attention of SERCO who will in turn advise the magistrates. The final decision rests with the magistrates. 

3.25 Detainees at hospital 

3.25.1. Where a detainee in the custody of PCOs has to be hospitalised before his/her first Court appearance, the PCOs will take him/her to the hospital and then contact the police to arrange for him/her to be transferred into police detention. Section 118(2) Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, (PACE) states that, ‘a person is in police detention if detained elsewhere’ (than in a police station) ‘in the charge of a constable’. This means that the detainee becomes a detained person and the custody officer must continue his/her custody record, or commence one.

3.25.2. Whilst the detained person is at the hospital the custody officer must be aware that a bail condition (for example a surety or security) may subsequently be fulfilled, and bail must be granted. If the detained person is in police custody the custody officer is responsible for granting the bail, if the detainee is in the custody of PCOs they must be advised as soon as practicable.

3.26 Detainees who are refused entry to prisons (timed lockout)

3.26.1. A detainee who has been remanded in custody or sentenced to a term of imprisonment will be conveyed to prison by the PCOs. If the Court sat late or there was a delay in issuing a remand warrant the PCOs may not arrive at the prison by the latest time the Prison Service has decided to accept detainees; they are then classed as being ‘locked out’. A detainee who has been “locked out” will be housed in police cells. 

3.26.2. If the PCOs arrive at a prison to deliver detainees and they are informed that there is a ‘lockout’ they will advise SERCO Control Centre who will advise the Prison Monitor who will then speak to the prison governor in an attempt to resolve the situation. 

3.26.3. If the Prison Monitor is unable to resolve the situation SERCO Control Centre will contact the local custody suite to arrange delivery of the detainee.

3.26.4. In all circumstances the decision to place “locked out” detainees will be based on the grounds of the most expedient location for Kent Police and not for SERCO. 

3.26.5. When a ‘Locked Out’ detainee is brought to a police station the custody officer must open a new custody record. Although the person is in police custody he/she is neither a Home Office Detainee or a PACE detainee, however he/she must be dealt with in accordance with Paragraphs 8 and 9 of Code C PACE Codes of Practice. In the event of a number of detainees being locked out due to a prison dispute the first point of contact will be the Strategic Custody team and the Custody Managers. 

3.26.6. If a detainee is 'locked out' and has to be housed at a designated custody suite overnight, the custody officer must ensure that a 'Prison Lockout Claim form' is completed for each locked out detainee for each night housed at a police station. This form is available via the Custody inSite pages under the Prisons, Probation and SERCO link which has a direct link to the form. This form should then be sent to the divisional finance manager who will deal with the claim forms.

4. Equality Impact Assessment (EIA)

4.1. An EIA has been carried out and shows the proposals in this procedure would have no potential or actual differential impact on grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, transgender, disability, age, religion, belief or sexual orientation.

5. Risk assessment

5.1. This SOP has been assessed as low risk.

6. Consultation

• Human Resources
• Finance
• IT Security
• Estates
• Health and Safety
• Equality and Diversity
• Freedom of Information
• Legal
• Police Federation
• Unison

7. Monitoring and review

7.1 This procedure will be monitored by the policy owner who also has oversight of the practical delivery of custody.

7.2. A comprehensive performance pack developed and published in force on a monthly basis. It is intended that there should be ACPO and SLT oversight at a local and force level. This data is also made available to the independent custody visitors via the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner with a briefing.

7.3 Each month a Kent custody suite is subject of an inspection intended to identify compliance with this policy and areas for continuous improvement.

7.4 This policy will be reviewed every two years with the next review taking place in January 2025.

8. Other source documents

APP - Detention and Custody

9. Security

9.1. Kent Police have measures in place to protect the security of your data in accordance with our Information Management policy.

10. Retention and disposal of records

10.1. Kent Police will hold data in accordance with our Records Review, Retention and Disposal policy.