A court security officer is, in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

, a person employed by either the

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

Secretary of State for Justice The secretary of state for justice is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Justice. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. Since the office's inception ...

(the role was combined in 2007) or a private company as a "court officer" and designated by the Lord Chancellor under section 51 (1) of the

Courts Act 2003 The Courts Act 2003 (c.39) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom implementing many of the recommendations in Sir Robin Auld's (a Court of Appeal judgeReview of the Criminal Courtsin England and Wales (also known as the "Auld Revie ...

Powers

Court security officers may search people as they enter the

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

and remove them if they refuse to be searched. They can also remove people in order to enable court business to be carried on without interference or delay, maintain order and secure the safety of any person in the court building. Reasonable force may be used in exercise of these powers. Officers may ask a person to surrender (and failing that seize) property if they believe it may jeopardise the maintenance of order in the court, put the safety of any person in the court building at risk, or may be evidence of, or in relation to, an offence. Property that was taken for one of the first two reasons must be returned as the person leaves the court; property seized because it may be evidence of, or in relation to, an offence may be kept for up to 24 hours to enable a

police constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an police officer, officer within a police ser ...

to deal with it. Court security officers may only exercise their powers when they are "readily identifiable", and assaulting or obstructing a court security officer in execution of his or her duties is an offence.

Duties

According to the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

(MoJ
website
their Court Security Officers have the following duties: *Monitoring premises and visitors via

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...

and x-ray machines, together with other security checks such as using hand-held metal detectors on court, uses and bag searches on arrival, *Restraining someone attending court, ejecting someone from the court or excluding someone from the court, *Controlling access doors and gates, checking of vehicles, *Searching members of the public entering the court building, *Checking pass holders' passes, *Patrolling buildings and satellite buildings, keeping in contact with the control room with the use of hand-held radios, *Securing the building when it is closed to the public, *Escorting contractors, members of the

Judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

and VIPs etc., *Dealing with enquiries from Staff,

and public within the complex, *Responding to panic alarm buttons (PABs) in Judges' rooms, courts and offices, *Responding to any security issues within the complex and recording and reporting details of those incidents, *Issuing security passes, *Generally providing a secure environment. According to the

HMCTS His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. It was created on 1 April 2011 (as Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service) by the merger of Her Majesty's Courts Service and the Tribuna ...

, in 2018:Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine

Officers

Court Security Officers may be

Civil Servants The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

who work for the

Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. It was created on 1 April 2011 (as Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service) by the merger of Her Majesty's Courts Service and the Tribuna ...

(HMCTS), or they may work for a private company, such as

G4S G4S is a British multinational private security company headquartered in London, England. The company was set up in July 2004 when London-based Securicor amalgamated with Danish firm Group 4 Falck. The company offers a range of services, in ...

or Mitie. One of their main roles, regardless of employment, is access control and searches of people and possessions on entry.

Appearance and uniform

Generally, Court Security Officers wear uniform and have a smart, professional appearance. MoJ Court Security Officers wear a typical British police/security type uniform: *white shirt with black clip-on tie *black trousers *black jacket or jumper *any rank, identification numbers or letters are worn on epaulettes on the shoulder

Royal Courts of Justice The Royal Courts of Justice, commonly called the Law Courts, is a court building in Westminster which houses the High Court and Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The High Court also sits on circuit and in other major cities. Designed by Ge ...

( ommonly called the Law Courtsis a court building in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

which houses the High Court and Court of Appeal of England and Wales) officers wear a "collar number" and the letters "RCJ".https://c8.alamy.com/comp/EWR1YC/london-uk-30th-june-2015-security-personnel-redirect-people-to-other-EWR1YC.jpg Mitie Court Security Officers wear their company name on their epaulette as well as "COURT SECURITY OFFICER". Some officers may wear stab vests.

References

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External links