Joint venture GEOAmey secures £900m prison escort deal

SUPPORT services group Amey, which delivers a number of key public services contracts in Birmingham, has secured contracts potentially worth £900m to deliver prisoner escort and custodial services on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Amey, which has offices in Colmore Plaza, Birmingham, will deliver the service through a newly formed joint venture company called GEOAmey PECS (GEOAmey).

The joint venture company comprises GEO – a global provider of prison and escorting services with a portfolio of 118 correctional, detention and treatment facilities – and Amey, which has more than nine years’ experience of working in secure environments for Central Government departments such as the Home Office and the MoD.

The Government had tendered four contracts to provide prisoner escort services, of which GEOAmey bid and won three. The company will now deliver a wide range of prisoner escort and custodial services across England and Wales, with the exception of London and the East region.

Services include escorting people between courts and prisons, transfers between prisons and managing court custody suites and dock areas.

The contracts will last for an initial period of seven years with an option to extend for a further three years and are worth around £90m a year.

GEOAmey said its entrance into the criminal justice market would bring innovation and maximise efficiencies to services. New measures include using pioneering secure light-weight plastic cells inside prison vehicles which will significantly reduce overall fuel consumption and implementing leading technologies to ensure vehicles use efficient routes on all journeys.

Mel Ewell, chief executive of Amey, said: “We are pleased to deliver another service to provide best value for money in the West Midlands.

“Together, GEO and Amey can achieve economies of scale, as well as bring fresh ideas and thinking to the sector.

“We look forward to building upon our existing presence in the region and working with the Ministry of Justice to develop a safe, flexible, efficient and innovative service.”