Scottish criminal courts are facing “disgraceful” delays due to failing custody arrangements, the Law Society of Scotland has warned.
This week it emerged future jury trials would be unable to proceed at five courts in the Grampian, Highland and Islands sheriffdom.
Staff shortages have also delayed cases across the county.
Prisoner services provider GEOAmey has blamed a “challenging labour market” for the problems.
The Scottish government said the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) was monitoring the company’s performance.
Examples of the problems have been highlighted on social media in recent weeks.
Last month Hamilton-based lawyer Matthew McGovern said a suspect had to be brought to a custody court by police officers and only arrived at 22:00 – ten hours after it convened.
He tweeted: “Completely unacceptable that everyone else is having to work twice as long to compensate for GEOAmy’s failings.”
And solicitor David Storrie said jurors for a case at Edinburgh Sheriff Court were left waiting from 10:00 to 15:00 for the accused to arrive from HMP Barlinnie in Glasgow.
This week Sheriff Principal Pyle announced pending jury trials would not be able to go ahead at Stornoway, Lerwick, Kirkwall, Portree and Lochmaddy Sheriff Courts as a result of staffing challenges faced by GEOAmey.
New jury trials will instead call at Inverness, Aberdeen or Peterhead Sheriff Courts.
And on Friday the problems delayed the start of the Amber Gibson murder trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
Image source, Getty Images
GEOAmey is responsible for transferring prisoners to courts across Scotland
Law Society of Scotland President Sheila Webster said: “We’ve been receiving disturbing and unacceptable reports of delays and disruption in courts across Scotland for quite some time, and it appears that the problems are getting worse with no end in sight.”Criminal solicitors have described the level of service being provided by GEOAmey as disgraceful, with hours-long delays commonplace.
“Whatever the cause of these disruptions, a solution must be found urgently so the provision of criminal justice can return to normal.”
She added the issues were “undermining access to justice” and causing “significant hardship” for solicitors and everyone else involved in the criminal justice system.
Ms Webster also voiced concern that courts in the Grampian, Highland and Islands sheriffdom were being “side-lined” by the current failures.
‘Challenging labour market’
GEOAmey said it was having ongoing discussions with its partners on how to improve the service to the courts and wider judicial system.
A spokesman for the Manchester-based firm added: “We fully accept that the challenging labour market throughout the UK has had an impact on our recruitment and staff retention, and this is undoubtedly a material factor in the delays to courts.
“We have, and continue to, apologise for the impact that this is having.
“The majority of all escorts take place on time and without incident, but nonetheless we will continue to strive to improve the service we provide.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service said it was engaging with justice organisations to minimise the impact of problems with the prisoner escort service on the operation of court business.
And Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: “We are working with our contractor, GEOAmey, to ensure we meet the transport needs of those in our care and the wider justice sector.
“Due to the levels of concern around this contract, and the priority SPS places on securing an improvement in performance, senior leaders are actively engaging with justice partners to identify solutions to the challenges we have seen.”
