Custody Insights
Independent UK Custody & Case Advisory
Independent operational guidance, family support, and practical prison preparation from arrest to post-sentencing — for individual clients, law firms and local councils.
Our Service Model
Each phase is delivered as a discrete engagement or as one continuous retainer, coordinated when appropriate with your solicitor and family. Prisoner coaching runs alongside every phase, before custody and throughout the sentence.
Phase 1
Removing the unknown before a sentencing hearing, so nothing about the first few weeks is a surprise.
£250 per hour (ex VAT) · included in the Full Private Programme: £7,500–£9,500
The final weeks before sentencing
Phase 2
Stabilising the situation in the critical early weeks, while your defence team builds its case.
£250 per hour (ex VAT) · Shadow Briefs: £3,000–£5,000, complex cases £6,250–£10,000
The critical early weeks after charge
Phase 3
Continuous, practical guidance for the family outside and the individual inside the estate.
£250 per hour (ex VAT) · Family-Only Support Block: £1,000–£2,000
Ongoing, from reception onwards
Coaching
One-to-one coaching that begins before surrender and continues throughout the sentence, giving the client a single trusted outlet to reach out to from inside.
£250 per hour (ex VAT) · Core 5-Session Programme: £3,000–£4,000
Before surrender through to release
Advisory Services
01
One-to-one coaching before custody and throughout the sentence — a named coach the client can reach out to from inside by prison email, telephone or letter.
02
Shadow Briefs for instructing solicitors: evidential gap analysis, vulnerability profiling and custodial impact assessment.
03
A second reading of the file from a custodial and risk perspective, surfacing what defence teams rarely see.
04
Realistic probability modelling of outcomes, category allocation and likely establishment.
05
Reception, induction and first-night procedures rehearsed in detail before the hearing.
06
A dedicated point of contact for partners, parents and children navigating an unfamiliar system.
07
Business continuity, financial authority and correspondence structured before custody begins.
08
Specialist operational input for criminal defence practices, on a matter or annual basis.
Method
The sequence does not change. It is what allows a case to move from panic to a written plan within days rather than weeks.
A structured first conversation establishing stage, risk and the single most urgent problem.
Focus-driven questionnaires in the client portal capture health, family, corporate, youth and legal position.
A written operational plan: what happens, in what order, who calls whom, and what to say.
Retained escalation support through surrender, reception and the first weeks inside.
In confidence
Our clients' confidentiality comes first, so all feedback is shared anonymously, with kind permission. Names, dates and identifying details have been changed or withheld.
We were told a custodial sentence was likely and had no idea what to do next. Within a week we had a written plan covering his medication, who would visit, and what to expect on the first night. It gave the whole family something to hold on to.
Nobody tells you what happens after the court doors close. One call with them and we knew who to contact, what to say, and what to ask for. The difference in my son's first month inside was visible.
The Shadow Brief they prepared alongside our bundle flagged two welfare issues that materially shaped our mitigation. It is the operational insight our team simply does not have.
Facing a sentence as a director, the business side felt as frightening as the sentence itself. They mapped out the bank mandates and creditor letters so everything was delegated before surrender. Quiet, thorough, discreet.
They answered the phone when I had nowhere else to turn. They never judged, never rushed me, and knew exactly which forms and procedures mattered in the first 72 hours.
Our youth team had exhausted its own networks. Their knowledge of the estate and the way they translated EHCP and care-status issues into a practical reception plan was exactly what the family needed.
Intake Suite
Retained clients complete the questionnaires relevant to their position. Each one is reviewed in full before the operational plan is written — nothing is left to a verbal recollection under pressure.
Individuals facing custody
ACCT risk mapping, prescribed medication continuity, neurodivergence and substance dependency planning for reception and first night.
Families and primary carers
Children, social care involvement, visitor accessibility, and a structured emergency contact list for the first 72 hours.
Directors, business owners and asset holders
Director status, bank mandates, creditor freeze requests, property and asset continuity before surrender.
Next of kin, immediately after a hearing
Rapid capture for the first 24 hours after a client is taken into custody, so escalation can begin the same day.
Criminal defence firms
Instruction form for Shadow Briefs: CPS bundle transfer, trial targets and mitigation strategy scope.
YOTs, parents and youth defence teams
SEND and EHCP status, care status, exploitation and NRM history for young people entering the youth justice estate.
Engagement Terms
We do not take contingent instructions, and we do not charge for the initial triage conversation. No engagement or administration fee.
No engagement or administration fee · billed in advance
For a specific question, a second view on a plan already in motion, or a single domain such as medication continuity or director delegation.
Recommended Full Package · 30–38 hours at £250 per hour · payable in advance
The complete programme for a client with a realistic prospect of a custodial sentence, from intake through surrender and into the first weeks inside.
Standard Shadow Brief · 12–20 hours at £250 per hour · complex multi-count cases £6,250–£10,000
For defence solicitors and direct access counsel instructing us to prepare a Shadow Brief alongside the served evidence.
Available Packages (ex VAT)
| Package | Hours | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single Consultancy Block | 4 | £1,000 | One focused domain |
| Core 5-Session Programme (Adult) | 12–16 | £3,000–£4,000 | Adult defendant + family |
| Full Private Programme (Adult) | 24–40 | £6,000–£10,000 | Complete adult pathway |
| Recommended Full Package (Adult) | 30–38 | £7,500–£9,500 | Most common adult offer |
| Family-Only Support Block | 4–8 | £1,000–£2,000 | Family stabilisation |
| YOI Tier 1 – Core Navigation | 16–22 | £4,000–£5,500 | Child + family YOI support |
| YOI Tier 2 – Full Programme | 28–38 | £7,000–£9,500 | Recommended YOI package |
| YOI Tier 3 – Complex / Multi-Agency | 40–55 | £10,000–£13,750 | High-need / care / transition |
| Shadow Brief – Standard | 12–20 | £3,000–£5,000 | B2B for solicitors |
| Shadow Brief – Complex | 25–40 | £6,250–£10,000 | Multi-count / HNW |
All fees are exclusive of VAT. Every engagement is charged at £250 per hour. The full private programme runs £6,000–£10,000 (24–40 hours); the most common adult private offer is £7,500–£9,500 (30–38 hours). Shadow Briefs are £3,000–£5,000 (standard, 12–20 hours) or £6,250–£10,000 (complex, 25–40 hours). No engagement or administration fee — billed in advance. Travel to prison establishments, courts or client premises is charged at cost plus the hourly rate for time in transit.
Resources & Family Tools
Written by former prison service practitioners against published HMPPS policy and gov.uk guidance — including word-for-word scripts you can read down the phone. No registration wall, no obligation.
Exactly what to say, who to ask for, and what to record when raising a welfare concern with a prison in England and Wales.
ACCT, IEP, OMU, Cat-D, ROTL, HDC — the terminology you will hear from staff and letters, decoded without jargon.
Reception, first night and induction across the prison estate in England and Wales, step by step and in order.
Client FAQ
Straight answers to the questions clients and families ask us most often.
Confidential Intake
Every enquiry is handled directly by a senior adviser. Nothing you share is disclosed to any third party without your written instruction.
Urgent matter? Note “urgent” in your message and we will prioritise a response the same working day.
Speak to an adviser
Consultancy rate
£250 per hour (ex VAT)
