Question reference: S6W-09946
- Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Date lodged: 25 July 2022
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Current status: Answered by Keith Brown on 15 August 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration is given to transporting a prisoner where required between court appearances in island sheriff courts and mainland prisons when use of the closest airport is not available and a longer travel time is therefore required.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
Where possible, the use of the Virtual Court process should be facilitated in the first instance, either from Police Custody Units (PCU’s) or mainland prisons, unless the individual is directed to appear in person by the Sheriff.
Where an escort is required to facilitate a court appearance in person, and the flight to that island is not available, or the airport is not available, the service provider is required to ensure that they have planned and organised the transportation of the individual(s) with sufficient time to ensure the person and escorting staff arrive in time for the scheduled court appearance.
This may mean organising ferry transport to the Scottish islands, and potentially liaising with SPS to temporarily locate the individual at an establishment closest to the ferry terminal if they have travelled from a significant distance.
Where required, the service provider may also need to liaise with Police Scotland to locate the individual in local legalised police cells overnight prior to, or after, the court appearance if off island transport is not available.