What can visitors do?

• Direct people you are visiting in detention to where they can find guidance and instructions relevant to their general treatment in detention/prison and their entitlements. You can provide hard copies of guidance documents where the person you visit wishes.

• Take some time to familiarise yourself with Home Office and Prison Service guidance for staff and contractors as background reading. This will enable you to better discern situations where the person you visit is not being treated the way that you think they should be and raise your concerns with your group or with AVID.

• AVID and our members are regularly consulted on Detention Service Orders (DSOs) when they are being updated by the Home Office. Visitors can support by responding to calls for input, identifying recurring issues, trends and recommendations.

• You should inform your coordinator if:

  • you meet someone in detention who you think might be a child. You need to determine whether a referral should be made immediately to the Refugee Council’s Age Dispute Project.

  • the person you visit or any other person you meet is at risk of harm, discloses to you that they were tortured or if they feel suicidal.

  • if the person that you visit or a friend in detention tells you, or gets a message to you, that they are being held in segregation.