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Visitor groups provide support in different ways, depending on the centre or prison they visit in and their own ways of working:
Some groups organise visits in the same way as friends or family would, known as social visits. After receiving a request for a visit, the visitor will call the detention centre and book a time to see the particular person in the visits hall. Visitors who visit in this way are subject to the same rules as all visitors to the detention centre.
Some groups have negotiated arrangements with centre management so they can access particular areas and resources. This might include:
Being allowed to facilitate a ‘drop-in’ space in the visits hall where people do not need to book in advance to attend
Being allowed to access spaces within the detention centre itself to:
Run a “drop-in” session to reach out to people who might not have heard about the visitor group
Run information workshops or group activities
Access private spaces available to professional visitors such as lawyers, which may allow greater privacy and access to phone interpretation facilities
During the covid-19 pandemic a number of groups developed arrangements where they could meet with people or run workshops through video-conferencing facilities. They also organised for volunteers to offer emotional support over the phone. Many groups continue to provide support over the phone or via skype to complement in-person support, or when there are restrictions placed on visiting.
People detained in short term holding facilities are often held only for a day or two, limiting the opportunities for people in detention to reach out for support. Groups visiting in these detention centres have agreements with centre management to visit on set days during the week, calling ahead to check whether there is anyone currently detained there. Visitors are often able to introduce themselves to those detained and ask if they would like to see a visitor there and then.
Many groups offer both 1:1 social visits in the visits hall and some kind of drop-in or workshop within the centre with the aim of being able to meet more people. While there are benefits, visiting within the centre itself brings with it challenges around remaining and demonstrating independence from centre management.
Depending on your group processes, you might be required to book a visit yourself through the detention centre, or your co-ordinator may book a visit for you.
Centres will have set visiting times which vary according to the centre, although they are most often in the afternoon (Derwentside and Dungavel IRCs are exceptions. Most centres have visiting hours everyday apart from Swinderby STHF which does not have weekend visiting hours.
You can find the visiting hours of each centre by following this link -https://www.gov.uk/immigration-removal-centre.
Discuss with the person you are visiting the best time to see them within the visiting hours available. People will be organising visits around other appointments, meal times, as well as their own preferences for meeting and it is important that they can choose a time that suits them.
Visits can be made over the phone or by email. Centres will often state that you need to book visits 24 hours in advance, although there may be flexibility. You will need someone's name to be able to book a visit with them, as staff will not give the names of people in detention to visitors.
You can find the number to book a visit on the website of the centre or prison you are going to.
In order to gain entry to a centre you will need to provide proof of identity. You can find out exactly which identity documents you will need by looking on the website of the centre you are visiting.
Your fingerprint details and other biometric information taken from you on entry will be stored by the IRC management contractor. People who have been detained previously are allowed to enter detention centres as visitors.
You will be asked for the name of the person you are visiting. You may have to go through a pat down search and an electronic scan where you will have to empty your pockets and remove your shoes. The process can be slow, so make sure you arrive early enough to make time for this before your visit.
Once inside, you will usually be asked to wait in a designated area until a custody officer calls you to say that the person you are visiting is ready for you in the visits room.
The person you are visiting will be notified by a guard that they have a visitor. They are escorted into the visiting room, and will usually get a rub-down body search in a separate room prior to entering the visiting room and after they leave. Some centres may prohibit people in detention from taking their phone into the visiting room.
In some centres, all personal property must be left outside, including money, the contents of your pockets as well as your mobile phone. There may be coin-operated lockers for you to leave personal property.
Some centres will allow paper and a pencil, information leaflets, or paperwork, while others do not. It is very important to follow centre regulations to maintain your right to access the visiting hall.
Check with your coordinator to find out precisely what you are allowed to take in with you.
You may be asked by the person you are visiting to bring specific items that they cannot purchase in the shop and are not provided by the centre. Shops provide a very limited range of food and toiletries, and people are provided with limited clothing.
Your visitor group will have a policy or guidance on taking items for the person you are visiting, and this should be followed carefully.
Any items bought in for someone in a detention centre or prison will undergo checks before they are passed to the recipient. There are limits to the amount (volume and/or weight) of personal belongings that people in detention centres and prisons are allowed to have in their possession and in storage. There are also tight restrictions on the type of item that can be handed in by visitors. It is important to follow these regulations as visitor groups.
Rules around what you can take to someone in detention are on the website of each centre.
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.
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.
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.
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.
There are several ways people in detention might hear about a visitor group:
Word of mouth: Often people who have been in touch with a visitor group will share information with others around what the visitor groups can offer
Through a drop-in: Where groups hold drop-ins within the centre itself, for example in a welfare office or a library, people might simply see visitors in the centre and want to know more.
Through detention centre or prison staff: The Operating Standards for IRC management require all detention centres to make information about AVID or the local visiting group available to those detained. Information might be shared as part of someone’s induction process when they arrive at the centre, or they might see a poster or leaflet distributed within the centre by staff on behalf of the visitor group. Welfare staff or chaplains may play an important role in referring people to visitor groups when they are concerned for someone’s wellbeing.
Through another visitor group: Where a visitor group at one centre is in touch with someone who is being moved elsewhere, they may pass on the details of the relevant visitor group. Visitors at short term holding facilities play an important role here in connecting people they meet in detention with support at the centre they are being moved to next.
Most detention centres and all prisons have visiting rooms with seating areas, which are located away from the living areas or wings.
Some centres or prisons insist on particular seating arrangements, such as the person you are visiting sitting at a particular table and in a particular chair. This might be very close to other people including guards. Other centres or prisons will allow you to sit where you and the person you are visiting feel most comfortable.
You may be able to buy snacks and drinks from a vending machine, and there may be a play corner for children.The level of supervision and the ambiance will vary from one detention centre or prison to another.
Privacy is really important for having meaningful conversations and building relationships of trust. The Detention Centre Rules state that visits should take place “out of hearing of an officer unless the Secretary of State otherwise directs”. If you or the person you are visiting is concerned that you are being overheard, you could request to move to a different location in the visits hall, although this may not be granted depending on the centre.
Given the size of visits halls and presence of guards it can be difficult to be sure your conversation is private, and it is important to recognise that this might impact what someone wants to discuss with you.