What to expect in prisons

Visiting for people detained in the prison estate is commonly facilitated by the Foreign National Coordinator, Equalities Officer, Diversity and Equalities Manager or an equivalent position in the relevant prison. The Co-ordinator of your visitors group will have already established the basis on which visiting at that prison will take place. This could be as a social visit (with or without a visiting order), as part of a workshop or group visit or a legal/professional visit.

Visiting arrangements vary depending on the prison and the regulations of that prison. There are different procedures for each type of visit, and local variations on visiting procedures. Privately run prisons may operate different procedures to HM Prison Service operated prisons.

Before visiting you will need to go through relevant security checks. Your coordinator will advise you on what security screening is required at the prison you visit, for example DBS and CRB checks.

Social visits & visiting orders.

Most prisons in England & Wales now allow online booking for visits without a visiting order https://www.gov.uk/prison-visits. You will need the name, prison number and date of birth for the person you are visiting, the dates of birth for all visitors coming with you, and to make sure the person you’re visiting has added you to their visitor list. Visits need to be booked 24-48 hours in advance, depending on the prison.

Where the online booking system is not available (usually for higher security prisons), social visits require a visiting order to be sent by the person in prison to a named person. The visiting order will give you the information needed to book your visit by telephone or email. Some prisons only allow inmates to make social visit bookings. Most visitor groups channel communications, including visiting orders, through the office address, and it is strongly advised that you don’t give out your home address for this purpose.

People detained in prisons under immigration powers are entitled to be treated as unconvicted (i.e. on remand), although it is common for them to be asked to sign a waiver which allows them to be held alongside and treated as serving prisoners. Remand prisoners are entitled to receive as many social visits as they wish, within reasonable limits, while people serving a sentence have a lower entitlement. Your coordinator needs to be sure that your visit is not replacing either a visit from family or friends, or a phone call abroad (provided to people in prison who do not receive visitors.)

It is possible for family members, partners or visitors to someone who does not get other visitors to get help with the cost of prison visits, if some circumstances apply. More information and the online application form can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/help-with-prison-visits.

You should ensure that you arrive at the prison early enough to follow the strict entry procedure. You’ll need to bring ID (generally a passport or other photo ID), and proof of your address, and the visiting order if you are visiting someone still serving their criminal sentence and have been sent one. You must leave all your personal belongings in a locker in the visitors’ centre but can take loose change to buy drinks and snacks. On entering the prison adult visitors will have their biometric information (photo and fingerprint) captured, you will be searched, and there may be additional checks including metal detectors and drug detection dogs. You will then be escorted to the visits hall, a large busy room, sometimes with play areas for children.

Legal/professional visits

The entry procedure for legal visits is essentially the same as social visits in respect of ID and personal belongings. You may be allowed to take in a pen and paper but that will depend on local policy at the prison. Legal visits cannot be restricted or denied by the prison as a punishment or removal of privileges, unlike social visits.

Visiting people detained in prisons under immigration powers

Immigration detention in the prison estate provides an overview of the use of prison for people detained under Immigration Act powers as well as some of the challenges that people who are detained in prisons face.

People detained in prison may struggle to get support and the information they need about their immigration and detention situation, especially if the Home Office does not have any onsite personnel, as is commonly the case. It is common to encounter an assumption on the part of prison staff that people held under immigration powers will be deported at the end of their custodial sentence. Prison officers commonly regard Home Office intentions towards a person as the likely final outcome and have had it impressed on them that they must not assist people detained under immigration powers with their immigration case, as this may be construed as legal advice and therefore be unlawful. As a result, they tend not to talk much to people detained about their bail application or deportation appeal other than handing over documents and may not understand the importance of such applications and the emotional toll of refusals.

Whilst people detained in prisons have access to 30 minutes of free legal advice, this is extremely difficult to find and there is no equivalent to legal aid surgeries that take place in detention centres. People detained in prisons are generally left to fend for themselves when it comes to legal advice, or simply given a list of lawyers to call, though some officers will try to help.

Recognising all of this, the role of a visitor is not easy. However, it is a vital role given the lack of information and the isolation faced by people impacted by immigration detention in prisons, the nature of which often leaves people feeling like they are forgotten.

We asked members of the AVID network advice they would give to visitors who are visiting people detained under immigration powers.

This is what they said:

• Shadow someone to build confidence and understanding before your first visit. Even as you grow in confidence, it can be useful to regularly join other visitors in your network to see how different people offer solidarity and advice.

• “You don’t need to know everything”. It is ok to tell someone that you do not know something. Responding that this is something that you can find out together, and working out the steps that you will take to do that, can help to establish a relationship of mutual support and trust.

• Focus on listening and building trust when you first visit someone and introduce practical content later.

• Whilst it can feel hopeless and frustrating visiting someone in prison, moral support is so important. Consistently showing up for someone and providing accurate information goes a long way.

As a member of AVID, you are part of a wider network of support. We encourage you to get in touch about training needs or if you have questions. You can also contact us about shadowing or meeting with another visitor group to learn about their support with people in prisons.

Other things to remember:

• People detained in prisons cannot hold mobile phones and can only access wing telephones when they are on the wing rather than at work or education. This can make it hard to make contact with a solicitor during working hours, and there may be backlogs before the PIN clerk logs essential phone numbers on someone’s accounts. A few prisons now have in-cell phones. As a visitor you will not be able to communicate directly with someone detained in prison, other than by letter/email. Your coordinator may be able to email or phone the prison officer responsible for people detained under immigration powers.

• Prisons are not generally geared up to deal quickly with faxing documents to courts or solicitors or making copies of documents. Faxes may be sent, but sometimes only at the discretion of officers. Prepare people to keep records of important information and that postal services within prisons can be slow.

Resource tip

Refer people to BIDs Self Help Guide which guides people through the process of applying for bail themselves.

Available at: https://www.biduk.org/pages/guides-and-resources.