Prison Life
The Prison Service deals with prisoners from all kinds of backgrounds. As every prisoner has different problems, a range of services are available to help prisoners prepare for their eventual release.
Personal Officer
When prisoners first arrive at prison, they will normally be allocated a personal officer.
A personal officer is a prisoner's first port of call if they have questions, complaints or need help or advice. Prisoners who do not have personal officers allocated to them can get the same support from the officer in charge of their wing or unit.
Visitors
For unconvicted prisoners (those awaiting trial) who can receive visits on a daily basis, the minimum duration of the visits should total one and a half hours per week. At establishments where visits to unconvicted prisoners are allowed three days a week rather than daily, each visit should last for a minimum of one hour.
Unconvicted prisoners should be offered the opportunity of at least one weekend visit every fortnight.
You will normally need a Visiting Order (VO) to enable you to visit a convicted prisoner. Convicted prisoners should be allowed at least one domestic visit every fortnight including at least one weekend visit every four weeks, with each visit normally lasting at least one hour.
For more information on visits and keeping in touch by letter and telephone you may wish to look at the Prisoners Information Book, Visiting and Keeping in Touch. This can be found from the link on the right hand side of this page.
Many prisoners may be permitted more than these allowances, for example, a prisoner may be able to secure more or longer visits through the Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme.
Visits normally need to be arranged in advance. Visiting hours are not the same for all prisons so you will need to check with the specific prison you wish to visit. Further information can be found on the Prison Service website.