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PECS expectations for prisons

Introduction (Back to top)

PECS have a responsive fleet of vehicles available to collect prisoners from prisons and deliver them to court and/or prisons, with a greater reliance on vans with a smaller passenger capacity which can make multiple runs, rather than bunching prisoners together onto larger vehicles for single movements.

There are non-cellular vehicles for transporting vulnerable individuals who are not suitable for moving in standard cellular vans, such as pregnant women or prisoners with disabilities.

It is pivotal that PECS works in close partnership with prisons to ensure the courts are serviced effectively.

Cancellations (Back to top)

Any move booked on Book a Secure Move (BaSM) to be completed by the PECS supplier that is no longer required must be cancelled by the booking location by 21:00 the day before the intended move date.

Cancellations could cover (non-exhaustive list) prisoner no longer in the establishment, court case has been completed, medically unfit or hearing has been changed to a video link.

If moves are not cancelled before this time then PECS suppliers will incorporate this into their overnight planning resulting in being classed as a ‘late cancellation’.

Classification of a late cancellation

The cancellation of the move is not completed by the originating location before PECS have completed their overnight planning and deployed resources to collect the prisoner.

Overnight planning is completed by 04:00 hours each day and resources deployed from 06:00 hours.

Cancellations should be completed on BaSM by 21:00 hours the day before to ensure these are excluded from overnight planning, this also considers operational timings within prisons where staff are able to complete the cancellation.

It is expected that some moves may need to be cancelled after 21:00 hours, as such these exceptional circumstances should be completed before 06:00 hours on the day of the scheduled move.

Reporting

The Contract Management Team for the PECS contract produce monthly reporting specific to each prison which contains details of all cancellations after 06:00 hours where PECS suppliers have deployed resources. Please contact your local Contract Delivery Manager (CDM – PECS) who will be able to provide the data.

Discharge to court – turnaround expectations (Back to top)

  • Prisoners will be collected and transported to the relevant courts by the contractors: either Serco (South) or GEOAmey (North) depending on their location within the country.
  • The contractors must be notified no later than 21:00 hours the day before an expected prison to court escort, using the Book a Secure Move (BaSM) platform to create a Prison Transfer Request (PTR).
  • Contractors must be consulted and briefed by the discharging prison in advance of any prisoner collection where additional security measures are deemed necessary (Security of Prisoners at Court Protocol).
  • All contractor vehicles collecting for courts must be prioritised above all other vehicles except for emergency service vehicles with blue lights.
  • Collection times agreed in schedule 32 should match the prison’s profile. 
  • Collection times should amount to 20 minutes per vehicle plus 2 minutes per prisoner to load them. This includes searching of the vehicle and loading of the property and the prisoners.
  • Delays to court in the morning cause a knock-on effect of further delaying inter-prison transfers and then further causing late returns from courts.

Load marshals (Back to top)

The default discharge priority remains Crown Courts first, then Magistrates Courts followed by inter prison transfer (IPT).

In some prisons suppliers will provide Load Marshalls on site to help prioritise the optimal loading order to be able to deliver prisoners to court on time.  Prison staff should do their utmost to support these individuals in their work and comply with their requested prioritisations wherever possible.

HMPPS has agreed that Reception opening hours in prisons which have a primary role in supporting court activity will reflect the needs of those courts. 

Reception operating hours (Schedule 32) (Back to top)

Schedule 32 of the PECS contracts provide Reception operating times for all prisons within England and Wales. These include the earliest times at which supplier vehicles may enter the prison for collections, any lunchtime closure periods, the latest Reception time and the Reception closing time. The Prison Reception Times section of this site provides full details.

Role of the PECS contract delivery manager (Back to top)

The purpose of a PECS contract delivery manager (CDM) is to ensure the efficient and contractually compliant delivery of the PECS escort contract within their respective areas by the private providers.

In doing so they are required to work collaboratively with other key stakeholders in the delivery process such as HMCTS, prisons, the Youth Custody Service, the Police, and Population Management Unit (HMPPS).

The CDM representation is spilt into a North and South team, the North Prisoner Escort Contract is delivered by GEOAmey, whereby in the South it is delivered by Serco. The CDM role oversees the delivery of these contracts, by measuring performance against a host of Contract Delivery Indicators.

The vision of PECS is to provide a safe, decent and secure service for staff and prisoners. The CDM will ensure the suppliers are compliant with its vision for service delivery.

Contact your local CDM for further information regarding their role and responsibilities, and how they may support your operational delivery.