From time to time, jailed inmates need to be moved from one place to another. The transfer process is rich with opportunities to make a bid to escape and it is not uncommon for detainees to use this time to their advantage. Sometimes prisoners have been carefully honing and perfecting their plan for weeks before the journey, while others may seize an opportune moment. Such incidents pose a substantial threat to the public and corrections officers need to plan for every eventuality. A prisoner seat belt constructed of strong, modern materials is one strategy for effecting a smooth prisoner transfer.
There are several reasons why prisoners have to be transported. During a trial, they often have to be moved to and from the courtroom every day, sometimes for several weeks. Detainees are often transferred from one prison to another. Still others are driven to hospitals, weddings, funerals and other similar occasions.
The best restraining equipment allows law enforcement officers to place the passenger in the vehicle securely without needing to reach over them. Physical proximity between detainee and his or her escort offers a serious risk of physical harm to both parties. At the very least, the subject should be handcuffed. If there is a known or suspected risk that the subject is violent, it is not uncommon to see them in leg irons especially if they are going to pass through an unsecured area.
Prison transfers are often effected after normal working hours to eliminate the risk of being exposed to the public. Escorts may be recruited from among prison staff, local law enforcement or external contractors. Whoever is in charge, management is expected to perform a risk assessment well in advance of the transfer to enable them to make the correct preparations.
Real-time verbal communication between all agencies involved in the transfer is essential if the transport is going to take place without incident. The escorting officers, representatives of the originating venue and the receiving venue should all be able to communicate freely via radio.
An average of 309 escapes during transfer take place each year. Of these, 68 percent were from a caged vehicle and in 84 percent of incidence, the detainee escaped from the rear seat of the vehicle. More than one in ten correction officers are injured and 3 percent are killed. To keep these figures in perspective, it should be noted that thousands of inmates are transported uneventfully throughout the nation each day.
Prisoners who are facing the prospect of a life sentence are especially liable to launch a suicide bid in order to avoid spending their remaining days in a jail cell. In extreme cases, prisoners have been known to violently take control of the vehicle in an attempt to effect a fatal traffic accident. This drives home the point that every effort must be made to secure an incident-free transfer. In addition to handcuffs, leg irons and even body chains should be considered where necessary.
Escorting criminals is dangerous work. Management should emphasize this to the staff who will be accompanying the prisoner and assure them that their jobs are an essential element in making the judicial process work.
There are several reasons why prisoners have to be transported. During a trial, they often have to be moved to and from the courtroom every day, sometimes for several weeks. Detainees are often transferred from one prison to another. Still others are driven to hospitals, weddings, funerals and other similar occasions.
The best restraining equipment allows law enforcement officers to place the passenger in the vehicle securely without needing to reach over them. Physical proximity between detainee and his or her escort offers a serious risk of physical harm to both parties. At the very least, the subject should be handcuffed. If there is a known or suspected risk that the subject is violent, it is not uncommon to see them in leg irons especially if they are going to pass through an unsecured area.
Prison transfers are often effected after normal working hours to eliminate the risk of being exposed to the public. Escorts may be recruited from among prison staff, local law enforcement or external contractors. Whoever is in charge, management is expected to perform a risk assessment well in advance of the transfer to enable them to make the correct preparations.
Real-time verbal communication between all agencies involved in the transfer is essential if the transport is going to take place without incident. The escorting officers, representatives of the originating venue and the receiving venue should all be able to communicate freely via radio.
An average of 309 escapes during transfer take place each year. Of these, 68 percent were from a caged vehicle and in 84 percent of incidence, the detainee escaped from the rear seat of the vehicle. More than one in ten correction officers are injured and 3 percent are killed. To keep these figures in perspective, it should be noted that thousands of inmates are transported uneventfully throughout the nation each day.
Prisoners who are facing the prospect of a life sentence are especially liable to launch a suicide bid in order to avoid spending their remaining days in a jail cell. In extreme cases, prisoners have been known to violently take control of the vehicle in an attempt to effect a fatal traffic accident. This drives home the point that every effort must be made to secure an incident-free transfer. In addition to handcuffs, leg irons and even body chains should be considered where necessary.
Escorting criminals is dangerous work. Management should emphasize this to the staff who will be accompanying the prisoner and assure them that their jobs are an essential element in making the judicial process work.