Prisoner Custody Officer (PCO) roles
Prisoner Custody Officer roles
Vehicle based PCOs
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You’ll be based in one of our vehicle bases and will travel to courts, prisons, police stations and hospitals.
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In this role, you’ll escort, supervise, and transport people from courts, police stations, hospitals or prisons.
Your day will start at the vehicle base, where you will carry out a vehicle check then head out to collect and transport prisoners and defendants to court from either a police station or prison. After completing the transportation of people going to court, you could also work within the court custody suites and the courtroom before you return to your vehicle to escort prisoners to prison.
D licence PCOs
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You’ll be based in one of our vehicle depots and will travel to courts, prisons, police stations and hospitals.
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In this role, you will drive one of our larger (10, 12 or 14-cell) purpose-built secure vehicles and transport adults between police stations, prisons and courts.
Your day will start at the vehicle base, where you will carry out a vehicle check before driving to collect and transport prisoners and defendants to court. You could also work within the court custody suites and the courtroom before you return to your vehicle to escort prisoners to prison.
Court based PCOs
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You’ll work in a court location.
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In this role, you’ll work as part of a team to make sure everyone in custody is safe, looked after and arrives in the court dock on time. You’ll liaise with key contacts in the prison and police force, ensuring all documentation is completed and correct, and you’ll complete risk assessments on vulnerable or at-risk prisoners.
Some of the custodial duties that you’ll carry out include searching individuals, cells, and custody suite areas, and maintaining security and order in the court room and custody suite.
What skills do you need to be a PCO?
You’ll fit right in if you’re:
Comfortable with people
Confident
Friendly
Compassionate
Flexible
Non-judgmental
Calm under pressure
Patient
Resilient
Courts
We service 142 courts across England, Wales and Scotland so you can be certain to find a role in a local town or city near you.
We service 126 courts across England and Wales, including:
64 Magistrates Courts
10 Combined Courts
34 Crown Courts
18 County Courts
We service 48 courts across Scotland, including:
44 Sheriff and JP Courts
11 High Courts
One Supreme Court.
FAQs
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All our officers are security vetted, in England and Wales, through Enhanced Level 2 (HMPPS) and in Scotland, undergo an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) pre-employment screening check to ensure you are suitable to work with vulnerable adults and/or children. In addition, in England and Wales, we also conduct a thorough background check to examine criminal records, including both spent and unspent convictions, as well as cautions, warnings, reprimands, and any police intelligence. Pre employment screening also covers a financial check and a full five-year work history check.
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All new recruits complete a comprehensive five-week training programme, followed by a full week of job shadowing, to prepare you for all eventualities of the role. The full-time training is delivered by our first class, experienced trainers to ensure our new officers are equipped to provide the highest level of care and follow our safety and operating procedures on the road, in a courtroom or within a court custody suite.
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We take pride in treating the people in our care with dignity and respect, ensuring they are dealt with consistently, fairly and always in line with our processes and regulations. You’ll need empathy, patience and the ability to remain calm and composed in stressful situations, and you’ll need to be physically fit, so that you can undertake the physical requirements of the role such as the restraint of adults. You must also have a good level of spoken and written English to complete and maintain accurate records.
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Not necessarily but it is a distinct advantage if you do hold a full UK driving licence.
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There are many career opportunities within GEOAmey, from becoming a manager at a vehicle base or a court, to moving into the logistics team or our other Support Functions. We have many long serving senior leaders who have worked their way up through the business and have enjoyed the variety of roles we have. We promote ambitious, driven and talented people, if you have those qualities - we’d love you to join us.
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We have officers who are based directly in courts and their role involves supervising the court cells, safely escorting the defendant to their court hearing and in most cases staying with the defendant in the dock. Our vehicle-based officers will supervise and transport defendants between courts, police stations and prisons, driving a mixture of specialist cellular, non-cellular vehicles and supporting the court teams by undertaking prisoner supervising duties within a court location.
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Yes, overtime is available, although not guaranteed.
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We offer a variety of contracted terms from 35 – 45 hour contracts (dependent on location), located in a court or based in a vehicle base. Across Scotland we also have dedicated night shift roles which work on a 4 on 4 off shift rotation basis.
A rewarding place to work
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25 days annual leave
Enhanced family friendly benefits (Maternity and paternity packages)
Company pension scheme
Life insurance
Benefits platform with family friendly discounts and holiday offers
Access to the Cycle to work scheme and the Technology benefits scheme
Company provided reloadable Spree card which provides cashback at a range of high street brands
Employee Assistance Programme with access to medical support, 24/7 remote GP, unlimited mental health sessions and personalised wellbeing consultations via the award winning UNUM app
Mental Health First Aiders
Retail discounts
Opportunities for career advancement and professional development
Comprehensive training programmes to enhance your skills and knowledge
Meaningful work that contributes to the Criminal Justice System
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We have a range of long service awards and employee recognition schemes, including:
Our Values Awards, which managers can use to recognise and thank colleagues in real time, for the great work they’re doing or have done
Employee of the quarter awards to recognise colleagues who have gone above and beyond
Employee of the year awards to celebrate colleagues who have gone above and beyond
Milestone awards to thank colleagues for their valued contribution for five, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years’ service
Refer a friend scheme, which is a great way to earn money at the same time as supporting the business with recruiting great people.
Apply direct for a PCO role in England and Wales
If you would like to apply for a PCO role in Scotland, please email your CV to Scotlandcareers@geoamey.co.uk.