An Inverness solicitor has criticised what he says are “unnecessary” delays in transporting prisoners to and from courts in the Highlands.

Craig Wood said he had written to Northern Constabulary’s Chief Constable Ian Latimer and the prisoner transfer firm Reliance after one of his clients did not arrive at Dingwall Sheriff Court until 1.35pm – nearly four hours after hearings started.

Mr Wood said it was not the first time proceedings had been held up by the late delivery of clients being held in custody.

He said: “This was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.

“It is ridiculous that the court can be held up waiting for prisoners to come to court. They should be there before the start of court so that those representing them can speak to them before they are due to appear.”

Despite being detained in the Tain area, the unnamed client was being held at Wick, rather than Inverness.

Mr Wood said Reliance had a contract to get those held in custody to the court on time.

He said: “This tardiness seriously affects the reliability of the court and the company seems to be indifferent to the court system.

“The police knew he had to be in Dingwall court on Thursday and instead of sending him to cells in Inverness, which is closer, they sent my client to Wick. This has happened on plenty of occasions and I don’t know why the sheriffs tolerate it.”

Northern Constabulary’s area commander for Caithness and Sutherland, Chief Inspector Matthew Reiss, said decisions as to where to send offenders were up to the inspector or duty sergeant.

He said: “They make their decisions on operational and staffing requirements and it is a matter of balancing Caithness, Sutherland, Tain and Inverness. There has to be 24/7 supervision if anyone is in custody and we have to ensure staffing levels are appropriate. We can’t plan availability of cells in advance as we never have any warning of anyone coming into custody.

“Occasionally, we may make an administrative error, but generally Reliance is contacted by 4am of the day of any required transfers. The partnership with Reliance has been very successful and there has been a high degree of co-operation which has saved many policing hours.”

A spokesman for Reliance said a van was dispatched from Inverness first thing on Thursday morning. He said: “It is a five-hour round trip and they were further delayed by welfare needs of one of the prisoners.”

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