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Prison Transport Services

Serco delivers safe and secure escort services on behalf of governments globally. Our escorting and court security capability draws on more than 20 years of global operational experience. We apply the principles of dignity, care and mutual respect to move those in custody safely and efficiently to and from medical facilities, courts, prisons, police stations, funerals, and visits to critically ill relatives.

Our extensive experience involves managing custody, court service liaison and escorting of male and female, adult, and youth prisoners, including vulnerable prisoners such as mothers and babies, those with disabilities, mentally and terminally ill people, those with complex behaviours and substance dependencies and people identifying as transgender.

The implementation of established human-centred logistics methodology allows Serco to apply safe, secure, and respectful approach to escorting prisoners. This methodology is characterised by end user and customer considerations, detailed delivery planning, clear communication with all stakeholders and the agility and flexibility to anticipate and respond to variable customer demand.

At Serco, we continually innovate through trials of new technologies and systems through researching and testing and, where suitable, implement technologies such as virtual reality (VR) training equipment for staff, contactless health monitoring, and the latest mobile fleet tracking and analytics devices for use in transport operations.

Leveraging global capacity

Serco operates Prisoner Escort and Custody Services (UK PECS) for the Ministry of Justice UK – our company’s largest prisoner escort and court custody services contract with over 300,000 prisoner movements per year. Currently operating at 99.8% compliance across all performance metrics.

Our UK PECS is now in its fourth generation.

Our demonstrated performance resulted in a ten-year extension to the contract in 2020 and a vastly expanded service area covering 62,000+ square kilometres across London, East England and South England, and some of the most high-profile courts in the country.

We escort 42,000 prisoners per month using a fleet of 265 specialist cellular and multi-purpose vehicles and a workforce of over 3,000 staff. We service 79 prisons, 269 police stations and 96 courts.

Between 2011 and 2017, Serco provided secure transport and Escort services to the Western Australian State Government, serving communities across the state’s 2.5 million square kilometres.

We managed 31 secure escort vehicles and introduced into service three new generation, custom-designed secure vehicles.

In 2016 Serco managed 45,000 transports annually and achieved a 99-100% performance in service delivery across nine key indicators applying technology used by our Court Escorting team in the United Kingdom.

Case Studies

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Implementation of VR

In the UK, we also use VR in our prisoner escort and custody contract as a tool to build and show empathy within the services we deliver in a range of settings.

Using agile systems with AI-assisted planning and logistics capabilities, and the most modern fleet of vehicles, Serco’s design philosophy takes advantage of the latest sustainable technologies such as new high strength, lightweight materials and fabrication techniques, efficient drive trains, and alternative fuels.

With fully integrated digital systems encompassing real-time geospatial, vehicle and driver dynamics as well as operating parameters, real-time CCTV, infotainment, driver and customer interaction, Serco operates the most advanced fleet of transport vehicles and systems available in the world.

Our digital video and communications capability mean the operational and security oversight teams in our control centre can see and hear what is happening in the field in real-time. This delivers the highest possible level of situational awareness, oversight, response capability and coordination.

Video in Van technology

Serco trialled a Video in Van (VIV) system in 2016 in the UK, conducting 24 hearings, one remote witness trial, and 50 client-counsel conferences remotely, showcasing efficiency and cost savings in prisoner escort services.

Row of correctional officers with Serco Justice on the arm of their uniforms

Serco Asia Pacific in Justice

We are a leading provider of essential services across the justice system, from the safe and secure operation of correctional centres to managing the reintegration of offenders into society.

We help governments to support community outcomes by pursuing a rehabilitative approach to justice, by focusing on safety, education, criminogenic needs, and the key outcome of reducing reoffending.

Supporting positive outcomes for First Nations peoples and communities