Failures across the court system are putting vulnerable people at risk, according to the Lay Observers. Their newly published annual report describes those failures as “systemic”.
Lay Observers are independent members of the public. The Justice Secretary appoints them to monitor people held in court custody. Their report draws on 759 visits to court custody, amounting to almost 2,000 hours of monitoring.
The monitors say concerns have surfaced for years, yet progress remains limited. They point to deep-rooted, persistent challenges that put people at risk. Children and women face particular harm. Unsafe transport and long spells in unsuitable conditions continue to undermine safety and wellbeing, the report says.
Long journeys for short hearings
Monitors found journeys that were often long and distressing, sometimes for hearings that lasted only minutes. At Swindon Magistrates’ Court, one detained person had a nine-minute hearing. Getting there and waiting in custody took 10 hours.
The report records no progress on separate transport for women and children, despite long-standing commitments. In July 2025, monitors looked at journeys where women travelled with men. In 44 per cent of them, at least one of the men faced a charge of, or had a conviction for, sexual offences or domestic violence against women.
In the same month, 38 per cent of monitored journeys carrying children included at least one child travelling with an adult.
Some detained people travelled to court even though no hearing had listed them. The report blames prison or court listing errors and poor communication. Such mistakes cause distress and strain resources that are already stretched, it says.
At Birmingham Magistrates’ Court, a woman arrived from HMP Foston Hall in error. When she learned of the mistake, she became extremely distressed and tried to self-harm. Staff suffered kicks as they tried to restrain her.
Staffing and cell conditions
Staffing remains a central challenge, despite better overall numbers, the monitors say. Custody staff routinely deal with people who have significant mental health needs, language barriers, disabilities and safeguarding risks.
Staff are overstretched and depend heavily on personal commitment to keep up standards of care. The report warns that this reliance is not sustainable. It raises the risk of poorer outcomes for detained people and staff alike.
The monitors also raise concern about people held for excessive periods in court cells. These cells are typically small, bare and uncomfortable. They offer little room to move and little to do during long waits. Such confinement can heighten stress, anxiety and isolation, the report says. That worries the monitors all the more because so many detained people have mental health needs or are at risk of self-harm.
The report does note some improvements. Twenty courts now have dedicated accommodation for children. Monitors also found fewer unclean custody environments and less overt poor treatment of detained people.
David Whalley, the Lay Observers’ National Chair, said: “Safeguarding often-vulnerable people in court custody must move beyond aspiration and become embedded in everyday practice. The current situation is not acceptable. We need sustained and coordinated action.”
He added: “Improvements cannot depend on the goodwill of individual staff or isolated examples of good practice, nor can progress continue at the slow pace observed in recent years.” He called for stronger cross-agency working, adequate resourcing and a renewed commitment to treating detained people with decency and respect.
The second part of the Leveson review of the court system appeared in the same month as the report. It also identified staff failures, transport problems and the condition of the courts as needing urgent action.
