When they decide to move you to the prison depends entirely on what’s been arranged with the prison itself. They move all sorts of prisoners – men, women and young offenders – so how long you’ll wait in the holding cell varies. If your wait covers a mealtime, you’ll be given a basic meal that reflects your religious requirements. Don’t expect fine dining.
The information on this page is based on the law in England & Wales. If you’re in Scotland or Northern Ireland, click here for the guide for your jurisdiction.
The move itself is by specialist prisoner transport van. These have a number of small individual compartments – think an old-fashioned train toilet in size, but with a seat instead. You’ll be handcuffed to a guard while still in your cell and walked to the van, where you’re put into your compartment and the cuffs come off. Once the van has finished loading, it passes through several security checks and gates before setting off. Don’t expect a police escort unless you’re considered high risk or high profile – these vans are on the public roads every day and look, to most people, like ordinary security vans.
The ride is slow, noisy and uncomfortable. There’s no toilet on board, so it pays to use the one in the court holding cell before you set off. The van will carry new prisoners alongside existing prisoners returning from court appearances. There’s usually some shouted banter between the more confident travellers, but most new prisoners sit in silence. You’ll hear people claiming their sentence is “nothing”, and others insisting it’s all a dreadful mistake. The officer on the van will have heard it all before – and the loudmouth telling everyone it’s easy is usually just as scared as you are.
The van may not go straight to your prison and could stop at others on the way. These stops take time, but there’s nothing to be gained from complaining about it.
| Insiders at Court | Arrival at the prison |
| Initial Phone Call | Moving to the wing/cell |
| First Night | Personal Officer |
| Phone credit and money | Induction Processes |
| Working in the prison | |