Disfunction Hundreds of trials being derailed by prisoner escort delays

Hundreds of trials are being derailed because prison vans fail to transport the defendant to court on time, figures show.

- Michael Goodier Matthew Weaver

A Guardian analysis found 207 crown court trials in England and Wales were declared "ineffective" in 2023—meaning they were postponed on the day—because the prison escort and custody service (Pecs) failed to produce the accused. That figure was up 44% on the year before and a near trebling of the number from five years ago.

There is growing concern about rising court backlogs, wasted funds and harrowing ordeals for victims and defendants forced to navigate the justice system.

Lawyers say the rise in escort delays is both a cause and symptom of an increasingly dysfunctional system. The two private Pecs providers, GeoAmey and Serco, say that they are facing increasing challenges, many of which are outside their control.

In the Old Bailey murder trial of the alleged killers of 10-year-old Sara Sharif, the judge, Mr Justice Cavanagh, expressed frustration about delays. After a two-hour late start to a hearing last month, he told the jury: "I'm afraid we've beaten yesterday's record for delays, it's a very late start again... I've made my unhappiness clear."