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5. CONTACT
Outcome
Good contact with family and friends is maintained.
5.1 The visits room is spacious and bright; prisoners book the visits; a number of family initiatives are in place and the Visitors Centre is a very good facility. However, there are no facilities for children in the visits room and the system for getting visitors from the Visitors Centre to the visits room is inadequate.
Family Contact
5.2 The arrangements for maintaining family contact are good. All prisoners receive their visits entitlement and sometimes can receive more than this. Prisoners book all visits which avoids families having to go through a switchboard.
5.3 A range of initiatives to maintain family contact is in place:
- Induction visits for families take place on a Friday morning.
- A child and family forum is in place which includes visits staff, the Family Contact Development Officers, Families Outside and the Salvation Army.
- Father and child bonding visits take place four mornings each week: however, prisoners have to have been held in the prison for over 12 months to become eligible for these visits.
- Four family orientated events are held each year.
5.4 There are four full-time Family Contact Development Officers in post. They are high profile within the visits area and at least one is always available during visiting times. They have their own office and telephone number. This is an area of good practice.
5.5 Visitors spoken to were content with how they were treated by staff.
The Visitors Centre
5.6 The Visitors Centre is located just outside the prison perimeter, within the car park. It is a large, bright, welcoming environment run by the Salvation Army. Visitors book in at the Centre and the information is relayed to the prison entrance desk. A member of Families Outside is present within the Visitors Centre. A 'café' provides a range of food and hot and soft drinks. A wide range of information is also on display. Visitors are asked to book into the Visitors Centre 30 minutes before the visits start.
Accessing the Visits Room
5.7 The process of getting visitors from the Visitors Centre into the Visits room is not working effectively. Not all visitors wait in the Visitors Centre until the visit is called: rather they wait in the entrance area of the prison. When visitors are officially called to visits they move from the Visitors Centre to the prison and also congregate in the entrance. If the visit session is busy, some visitors have to queue outside - sometimes in the rain. Visitors' identification is checked and they then proceed, one at a time, through a turnstile. Agents and visitors go through the same procedure, at the same time, which contributes to the congestion. The whole area is very crowded with the potential for jostling and tempers to become frayed. It is recommended that the process by which visitors get from the Visitors Centre to the visits room is improved.
The Visits Room
5.8 The visits room itself is spacious and bright. The tables are spaced to allow a certain amount of privacy. Supervision by staff is strict but not obtrusive. There are no facilities for children. 'Friends of Edinburgh Prison', a voluntary organisation, run a very well used café within the visits room.
Information
5.9 Information for visitors is readily available in the Visitors Centre. Family Contact Development Officers are also on hand in the visits room and by telephone to provide support and information if required.
Communications
5.10 There are sufficient telephones for the number of prisoners living in the prison. However, they are located next to the pool tables in Ratho Hall, and therefore lack privacy and are noisy. Prisoners can send as many letters as they can afford.
Searching
5.11 All visitors are given an upper body search after they have passed through the turnstile and before entering the visits room.
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