GEOAmey failures disrupt local justice with no end in sight

Sheriff Principal Pyle has published an order of court introducing changes to the jury court operations for Grampian, Highland and Islands Sheriffdom. The order requires new jury trials which would have called at Stornoway, Lerwick, Kirkwall, Portree and Lochmaddy Sheriff Courts to call at Inverness, Aberdeen or Peterhead Sheriff Courts instead.

Existing jury trials scheduled at Lochmaddy and Portree will be transferred to Inverness.

Existing scheduled jury trials at Stornoway and Lerwick and all other court business will continue to call at their respective courts.

GEOAmey has been routinely unable to provide prisoner escorts on the days jury trials were supposed to start.

In a memorandum, Sheriff Principal Pyle writes that he thought moving jury trials, which was necessary during the pandemic, would only ever be a temporary arrangement.

His memorandum states: “The problems in the operation of the prisoner escort contract are a matter of public record. They are not exclusive to our sheriffdom. Indeed, I understand that severe disruption has occurred in the High Court, never mind in many sheriff courts throughout the country.

“It has recently become clear to me, however, that the contractor, GEOAmey, cannot perform its obligations for your courts, to a degree that it has become certain that jury trials would be due to start on the day only to find that prisoner escorts were unavailable. As you will appreciate, that is not just an issue for cases where the accused is in custody; even if bail has been granted it is impossible to conduct a jury trial without an escort. (The Lord Justice General and all the Sheriffs Principal agreed earlier this year that the dock escort could be reduced to one officer – just in order to assist in one way we could to avoid trials being adjourned.)”

It adds: “Such an order should be made only as a temporary measure. I and others have therefore been asking for some time when we can expect the present problems to end. We have had no satisfactory answer. I am therefore unable to give any indication of when matters will return to normal.”