Recurring concern

Unreliable prison-to-court transfer information

First to latest report 20 Jun 2014 — 26 Nov 2019

Reports that mention this concern
2
Times this concern has been raised
2
Stated actions linked to this concern
0

What this concern includes

Includes failures of the prison-to-court transfer information process, including identifying people due for court, communicating court or transfer details to responsible prison staff, and delivering information early enough to support fitness assessment, risk recognition and safe transfer preparation.

What is not included
  • Excludes generic prison information-sharing or notification failures not specifically connected to court attendance or transfer preparation.
  • Excludes failures in the court hearing, sentencing or legal decision itself where no prison-to-court transfer information deficiency is identified.
  • Excludes general prisoner transfer failures not involving court or comparable destination-transfer information.
  • Excludes failures limited to subsequent supervision, escorting or transport operation after the required transfer information has been reliably delivered.

Reports and published responses 2 reports

See individual reports that have raised this concern, and the actions taken in response

  1. Hampshire

    AI-generated summary

    Trevor Albert Oakley · Prevention of Future Deaths report

    This summary was generated using AI from the published report. Please read the original report for the complete account.

    Report summary

    Trevor Albert Oakley was found hanging from a bedsheet ligature in his prison cell on 22 October 2018, shortly before he was due to start his trial. The inquest concluded that his death was suicide. The principal concern was that night staff were not immediately informed which prisoners were due in court the following morning, meaning increased self-harm risks might not be identified.

    Read the report on judiciary.uk

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Failure to notify night staff of prisoners due in Court the following morning

    Wider context from the report

    “(1) I was told that the Courts will supply the Prison with a list of prisoners who are required for trial the following day, (“the List”). The List is circulated within the prison by the OMU (Offender Management Unit) and the relevant staff should receive the List to enable them to know which particular prisoners need to be unlocked for Court attendances the following day. I was told that the Night Orderly Officer will brief the night shift officers on the wings as to what is due to be happening over the course of the night shift, but it was the evidence of more than one Prison Officer on duty that there was no notification of the prisoners due in Court the next morning. The stance adopted within the prison appeared to be that the information was available if a Prison Officer wanted to go and look for it within the system. (2) I am concerned that within the Prison it is not immediately apparent to the night staff who is due in Court the following morning from this, it flows, that any increased risk of self-harm by such prisoner(s) is not identified. ”

    Source location

    Trevor Albert Oakley · Prevention of Future Deaths report
    Page 2 · concerns

    Open source report

  2. Suffolk

    AI-generated summary

    Redmond Johnson · Prevention of Future Deaths report

    This summary was generated using AI from the published report. Please read the original report for the complete account.

    Report summary

    Redmond Johnson, aged 67, suffered a cardio-respiratory arrest while being transferred to Ipswich Crown Court on 25 November 2011 and died after transfer to Ipswich Hospital. The report identified concerns about the assessment of his fitness for transfer, including a record stating that he had no known medical risks despite the healthcare professional not having seen him. It also identified concerns about the management and documentation of his complex healthcare needs in custody, including liaison with community providers, specialist appointments, investigations, medication and care monitoring.

    Read the report on judiciary.uk

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Delays in delivering transfer information needed for fitness assessment

    Wider context from the report

    “(6) Information about which detainees are going to be transferred to court or other locations needs to be delivered to the individual prisons in enough time for a thorough assessment of the detainee’s fitness to be transferred (including a face to face assessment if required) to be conducted. ”

    Source location

    Redmond Johnson · Prevention of Future Deaths report
    Page 2 · concerns

    Open source report

Actions and positions describe what organisations say in published responses. Implementation is not independently verified.

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Data last updated 7 September 2026