Locks and Security News: your weekly locks and security industry newsletter
17th April 2024 Issue no. 701

Your industry news - first

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Oops! The lock broke officer...

A security firm is to look at changing the locks in its prison escort vans after a violent prisoner escaped.

The inmate, who is serving a seven year sentence for serious assault, claimed an unlocked cage door inside the prison van swung open as it went over a bump in the road whilst transferring him to another prison.
He was caught nearby within 15 minutes.

According to The Scotsman since security firm Reliance won the seven-year, £126 million contract in 2004 to ferry Scotland's criminals between court and prison, more than 50 prisoners, including a teenage killer, have escaped from the company's custody.

But officers were taking no chances when the prisoner appeared in the dock at Livingston Sheriff Court. The accused was double cuffed and guarded by three well-built officers. He was sentenced to serve an extra nine months in prison.

A Reliance spokesman said: "We have a small number of this particular model of vehicle and as a precaution we took them off the road following this incident.

"The vehicles are undergoing stringent tests and we expect them to become operational again in the near future."

5th June 2010