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Reception/discharge process

How to book prisoner moves (Back to top)

The BaSM User Guide provides BaSM users with step-by-step instructions, including screen captures, to create:

  • Single moves to court
  • Single IPTs
  • Fulfilling IPT allocation drafts

How prisoners are booked into prisons (Back to top)

The PECS contract was designed to improve performance and efficiency with the introduction of the digital platform, replacing the paper PER with the digital PER (dPER) for transporting a prisoner, and Book a Secure Move (BaSM) providing advance warning to prisons of who is arriving and at what time.

Prisons have access to information via BaSM, so instead of being notified by telephone, prison reception teams need to be proactively monitoring their systems (BaSM ‘incoming moves’ dashboard) to obtain the information they need prior to arrival.

Please note that the following circumstances is the only occasions where there will be a requirement to telephone the establishment ahead of arrival:

  • Significant self -harm
  • Use of force (relocation onto the vehicle of non-compliant prisoners)
  • Dirty protest (on route)
  • Any occasion where there is an immediate release being returned to the establishment (this includes a call to the Offender Management Unit)

Digital prisoner escort record – DPER (Back to top)

All sections must be completed, and PECS suppliers cannot accept custody of a prisoner with an incomplete DPER as per HMPPS policy.

The supplier will escalate any incomplete DPER to the vehicle base or logistics centre.

It is the responsibility of the sending establishment (prison/police) to update any omissions from the DPER prior to handover, this should not unduly delay any transport.

Verbal communication with sending and receiving parties is also an important aspect of highlighting particular risks or concerns.

Please use this link for further guidance around DPER completions.

Risk and information transfer – DPER and verbal handover (Back to top)

Information relevant to a detained person’s risk of violence, self-harm or suicide should be clearly recorded in detail in the ‘History of Events’ and specific risk sections of the DPER (see BaSM user guide for more information), and clearly flagged as a risk of violence or self-harm/suicide as appropriate.

Escort staff should flag any risks of harm identified during court custody or transit to prison reception staff during a verbal handover of detained persons.

They should also make sure that prison reception staff acknowledge this risk information.

Briefing prison reception staff verbally should not be used as a replacement for the written record of risk information in the DPER’s ‘History of events’ – both methods should be used to share safety risk information.

Digital warrants (Back to top)

Where the warrant is not available at the point of reception into a prison, the Person Escort Record annotated with the outcome of the court hearing, becomes the authority to detain. See PSI 07/2015 Early Days in Custody, Paragraph 2.7.

In the event of a lockout or re-direction, the sending prison will forward all documentation from the court to the receiving prison as soon as possible and in any event within one working day.

If the defendant is not allocated to the court’s Calendar prison, HMPPS or private prison staff will contact the PECS contractor (for Serco the OCC and for GEOAmey the relevant local vehicle base) to establish the defendant’s destination and forward (via e-mail) all documentation to the revised prison or police station lockout destination.

If the defendant is later placed in another prison, it is the responsibility of the original discharging prison that transfers them to ensure all relevant paperwork is transferred to the receiving prison. It is not the responsibility of HMCTS or PECS contractors to provide duplicate documentation.

In any of the scenarios described above, and where a defendant is remanded in custody with a direction to appear via PCVL for the next hearing, the sending prison will ensure that the receiving prison is informed of that listing and direction.

In addition, it will inform the court where the defendant is due to appear of any change of prisoner location, to facilitate the administration of the next PCVL hearing.

Security or good order concerns (Back to top)

Individuals attending court should be escorted to the local Calendar establishment following their court appearance, ensuring journeys are timely and travel time kept to a minimum.

The contractors manage their resources on this principle to ensure that individuals arrive within the establishment reception opening times and to facilitate individuals arriving at court in a timely manner in order to prevent delays to the justice system.

Prisons should not refuse individuals from court but should manage their individual risks in the short term, refraining from “Governor to Governor agreements”.

The contractor is not responsible for redirecting prisoners upon establishments requests.

The SNET process (Short Notice Extra Transfers) is available to establishments to request urgent moves in consultation with PMU colleagues should risks not be able to be managed long term.

Licence recalls (Back to top)

Overnight Licence Recalls – overnight recalls to custody should be collected and escorted into the local aligned prison during the initial collection run by the supplier, unless otherwise authorised by PECS. Exceptionally, where the calendar prison has no space, an immediate redirection will be given by PMU.

Late notification Licence Recalls – late notification licence recalls or recaptured escapees who are detained by the police, the supplier’s overriding obligation shall be to ensure that the Late Prisoner is returned to the relevant prison as soon as practicable.

The supplier will advise the police of an expected collection time within 60 minutes of the time of Notification of a Late Prisoner and this collection time will be within 120 minutes of the time the police are notified.

Redirection process (Back to top)

It may be appropriate to redirect prisoners to alternative prisons following appearance at court, should the normal Calendar prison not have sufficient capacity to receive them.

Only HMPPS’ Population Management Unit (PMU) can authorise PECS suppliers to make redirections to agreed locations. PMU will contact the receiving prison to provide details on the number of prisoners to be redirected.

Any timing issues (i.e. late receptions) will be managed by the on-call PECS Contract Delivery Manager.

Transgender prisoners (Back to top)

The management of Transgender individuals who receive a custodial outcome at court must be carefully managed in accordance with the national HMPPS ‘Care and Management of Individuals who are Transgender’ Individuals policy framework.

If you require any assistance surrounding the allocation of Transgender individuals from court, please contact your local PECS Contract Delivery Manager. Additionally, the HMPPS Transgender Team (HMPPStransgender@justice.gov.uk) can be contacted for advice and ongoing support when managing Transgender prisoners in custody.