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Original poster

Son remanded into custody

104 replies

Samdwoman · 27/04/2020 19:48

DS (19) was remanded into custody today after court appearance until May 25th. I can’t find anything out. He used his 5 minute phonecall to ring me but was just in a state crying. I don’t know who his solicitor is or whether he will get a psychiatric assessment when he arrives at prison or anything. He’s previously attempted suicide and was detained under mental health act.

I know what he did was awful but he’s my son, he’s very immature for his age and he’s terrified. Any idea what will happen now?? How do I find out who his solicitor is?

OP posts:
YinuCeatleAyru · 27/04/2020 20:25

due to data protection they can't tell you anything but they can listen, you can tell them about his vulnerabilities and needs and immaturity and remind them of their duty of care to him. make sure you record the name and number of the duty officer you report this to and keep notes (or if possible a recording) of you telling them this. make sure they know they will be held to account if you later find that they didn't make adequate arrangements for his wellbeing given his additional needs.

Lostmyunicorn · 27/04/2020 20:29

Who represented him in court is a matter of public record and you should be able to find that out from the court. It is not subject to data protection. The prison will not tell you anything without specific consent - but if his MH professional can get onto the MH team in the prison they may be able to get his consent much faster than you would otherwise be able to.

Lostmyunicorn · 27/04/2020 20:34

One other point is that any solicitor worth their salt would have asked him whether there was a family member or other person they should liaise with and if yes, have got his written consent to release information. If he doesn’t consent, the solicitor can’t tell you anything, not primarily because of data protection but because of their professional duty of confidentiality to him as their client. They may of course be liaising with his MH worker if he has instructed them to do so.

Lostmyunicorn · 27/04/2020 20:37

And finally most prisons have a phone line where you can report concerns for a vulnerable prisoner. Obviously that doesn’t help if you don’t know where he has been taken.

BumbleBeee69 · 27/04/2020 20:55

has he been charged with an offence prior to today ?

frumpety · 27/04/2020 20:57

If he was arrested yesterday and remanded today, he has clearly been accused of doing something really bad. Something you seem to think he has actually done by your language OP ? Whether he has or not I would be careful of how your phrase things on here.

WrongKindOfFace · 27/04/2020 21:05

You can use the find a prisoner service however the prisoner must give their consent. www.gov.uk/find-prisoner

PanicAtTheDiscLo · 27/04/2020 21:12

Hi - I’ve done a bit of forensic mental health. I think it depends on the nature of the offence on who will get involved with his MH and when unfortunately- In our area there are two tiers of forensic MH and the higher level can often take a lot longer to access. If you give indication of the nature of offence OP People will likely be able to offer better advice.
I really feel for you. A day is no notice at all, and 19 is such a baby you must be worried out your mind. Most of the time any awful thing won’t make him any less your little boy, your heart must be breaking.

Hippywannabe · 27/04/2020 21:17

I have been thinking about you all day. I was on your post this morning.
Can you contact a solicitor yourself tomorrow to find out where he is and who his solicitor is?

anxietrist · 27/04/2020 21:17

What did he do?! I haven't seen the previous threads. I really feel for you OP, my son is younger but imagining him in this scenario is terrifying.

decisionsdecision · 27/04/2020 21:19

Hi OP

If he was only arrested yesterday I'm not sure how you've had a court hearing already?

If you are his nominated contact you need to re call the police station and explain as a nominated contact you would like to know what is going on. Explain MH issues and that your son is unable to remember the name of his solicitor. Maybe ask if they can tell him the name whilst he is on the phone to you.

This also depends on the severity of the crime. Some crimes mean that the process is closely 'safe guarded'. Until we have a better idea of the crime it is hard to give good advise.

You could also try searching the local court solicitors who service your area and contacting one by one.

Firstly though I would as a matter of urgency explain MH issues and possible autism and ask them to be present whilst he calls you so they can tell you who his solicitor is

NaturalBornWoman · 27/04/2020 21:22

Did you post earlier and get the thread deleted after saying what he’d done?

CallMeOnMyCell · 27/04/2020 21:23

@decisionsdecision all criminal cases start in the magistrates’ court, if the police remanded the OP’s son he would have been taken before the first court and the next hearing date is then set. If the offence is serious then a defendant will be remanded to custody and the case will either be heard in the magistrates’ or crown court, again depending on how serious the offence is.

decisionsdecision · 27/04/2020 21:29

@CallMeOnMyCell normally this doesn't happen before 24 hours? I guess it depends on the crime and evidence.

I'm presuming therefore he will have been, for the moment, appointed the local solicitor who would've spoken to him before the hearing began. As I said it would be worth looking at who services the courtrooms as a solicitor or maybe calling them up to ask who their duty solicitor/solicitors firm is

Logoplanter · 27/04/2020 21:43

OP please listen to the advice given by Lostmyunicorn as they clearly know what they are talking about.

The court will tell you who the solicitor was, they will also tell you where the prisoner should have been remanded to but if that prison was full at the time your son could have ended up somewhere else. Once you know those two bits of info you can contact both the solicitor and the prison to find out more.

If your son has known MH issues it should have been flagged to the cell staff at the court and the information would have been passed to the prison when he was accepted so they will be aware of it and carry out their own assessment.

I hope you are ok, this must be very difficult for you.

sergeilavrov · 27/04/2020 21:52

Upon entry to UK prisons, even on remand, all entrants undergo a basic health assessment that takes into account both physical and mental concerns. This initial assessment would have been carried out immediately upon arrival. This initial 'triage' style assessment includes asking about medication, to ensure its continuity. However, this is only fifteen questions and there is no communication with the NHS to get records to determine if the prisoner is being misleading. If he is likely to have not been honest about his mental health concerns, I think that it is especially critical you get in touch with his solicitor. If he identified specific issues (such as suicide attempts, other mental health disorders), he would be subject to one of three things depending on what he disclosed: (i) and immediate in-depth assessment, (ii) referral, or (iii) secondary screening. Most prisoners do opt to disclose, with a false negative rate of approaching 0 percent.

TreeTopTim · 27/04/2020 22:09

@decisionsdecision I am in Scotland so it may be different but the process is as follows. If you are arrested, charged and kept in police custody overnight you go to court usually the following day and the court decides whether you are bailed or remanded.

Because he is 19 you may not get much info from anyone. When I was dealing with this I was in court so I knew that they had been remanded. No one would tell me anything. I had to get written permission from the person in question.

purplecorkheart · 27/04/2020 22:23

I am not very clued up on the uk system but if you know what Police station he was arrested at could they tell you the name of the onduty Solicitor on the day he was arrested.

LilacTree1 · 27/04/2020 22:27

Actually the mention of nhs made me think

Is there any way your GP can help find out where he is, if he’s flagged as a vulnerable adult?

AlwaysCheddar · 28/04/2020 07:30

Is this the Son who was charged with abh/gah and had a knife?

OllyBJolly · 28/04/2020 07:39

OP - you do not have to give any details that you don't want to and it is probably wise not to share any info on the alleged crime. (I see the ghouls are out). This must be incredibly difficult to be faced with this at these difficult times. I'm thinking of you.

Ghouls - the OP is looking for support and advice on how to make sure her son is properly cared for. Stop asking for details irrelevant to the post.

Ginntoniconpause · 28/04/2020 07:51

Hi OP, if you can find out with prison he was remanded to, the court should be able to tell you which prisons they usually send to, you might be able to contact the prison social worker who may give you a bit more information.

TreeTopTim · 28/04/2020 08:58

No one is going to give Op any information due to the data protection act. She has to wait until her son gets in touch with her and writes a letter saying that he is giving her permission to look after his affairs.

Rainbowqueeen · 28/04/2020 09:10

Handholding OP. This must be horrible for you

I would also try the court. Hope you are able to find some information today

seltaeb · 28/04/2020 09:51

When you find out who the solicitor is talk to them about applying for bail, or appealing if bail was applied for at the initial court hearing and refused.

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