Mother breached security to smuggle knife into court building

A mother has been subjected to strict rules on attending the family court after previously smuggling a knife into the building.

Details of the security breach emerged in a judgment published yesterday in which Mr Justice Peel described how the woman had attended court in January on a day when she had no specific reason to do so.

The woman passed through security and made her way to the first floor toilets. When she came out, she went back to the security reception on the ground floor and handed in a knife wrapped in plastic and bound in tape before leaving the building. The knife had a three-inch blade and four-inch handle.

Peel, sitting in the Newcastle family court, said it was not clear how the knife had been brought into the building and that the matter had been reported to the police.

The mother is a litigant in public law proceedings scheduled for a final hearing later this year, where the local authority intend to argue for a care order for her four children and a possible adoption plan for the two youngest. The mother strongly resists any such application.

Peel explained that the mother was barred from entering the court building for a case management hearing following the knife incident. She submitted that she acted as she did to draw attention to knife crime and what she describes as the lax security measures at court.

Permission was granted by the court for the mother to attend future court hearings remotely, but her lawyers carried out a risk assessment and could not offer her its offices, or allow a staff member to attend another facility where remote access could be provided. The judge said the mother could not be expected to appear remotely from her current residence, a homeless person unit.

The judge explained that the HMCTS protocol for managing potentially violent people (PVP Protocol) had been updated following an assault on a sitting circuit judge in November by a litigant in person. All courts were required to review and implement their processes.

In terms of the upcoming hearing, the judge said the mother was ‘clearly a potential risk’ and that there was a present and continuing possibility of acts or threats of violence. He add that protection must be extended to all judiciary, staff, court users and other people in the building, regardless of whether they are involved in the case.

‘A potentially violent person represents a risk to those rights in terms of disturbing due process, causing delay, and generating upset, fear and, in the worst case scenario, physical harm,’ he said. ‘But it is also in the interests of all to ensure that M can participate effectively so as to assist the court in reaching a balanced, fair decision, taking full account of all the evidence and submissions.’

The mother was told she could attend the building and be met by her lawyer at security. She could not be accompanied by anybody apart from her legal representatives and security staff, and her mobile phone will be removed for the duration of her time in the court building. She would be assigned a separate consultation room guarded at all times by security, and at least two security guards would accompany her at all times except when she goes to the toilet. After leaving the toilet, she would be thoroughly searched each time.

When the court hearing or court day finishes, there would be a staggered exit so she could leave the building before anyone else.

If the mother refuses any part of this process, Peel said, she may be excluded from the building.

An HMCTS spokesperson said: 'he safety and security of all court users is our priority. An investigation is taking place into an incident at Stratford Magistrates’ Court on 18 March and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.'