A firm who spent millions of pounds in securing a Government contract to deliver criminals to the courts of justice via high tech means have ended up escorting the prisoners into court by foot after an error in their preparations.

GEOAmey PECS have spent thousands of pounds to ensure their security service is second to none. Their security vans are full of high tech equipment and all covered by good van insurance quote. It was attention to detail like this that secured them three Ministry of Justice contracts worth more than £900 million to provide prison escorts and deliver prisoners to the courts of justice. Many high risk prisoners must be delivered to court in the most secure environment possible, however, on a recent visit to the Bristol Courts of Justice the van holding the prisoner was unable to access the holding cells and a prisoner had to be escorted on foot to the courts cells.

A spokesman for the security firm admitted the breach of security had arisen and explained thus: “We have a number of vehicles designed to access the Bristol Crown Court building. However, on exceptionally busy days when those vehicles are fully utilised and particularly when prisoners are being brought from outside the area, a standard custody vehicle, as used in other locations, may not be able to negotiate the restricted access to the building.

“Such instances are rare. On these rare occasions and only after a proper risk assessment and using appropriate security measures, a decision may be made, to avoid causing a delay to court proceedings and the associated inconvenience, to escort a prisoner on foot.”

It is not the first time security firms who secured big Government contracts have hit the headlines for their lack of… security. The Group 4 security firm had several embarrassing incidents in the 1990s when prisoners on their way to courts in the UK managed to escape en route.