Keeping in contact with a person in prison

Telephone calls

The information below draws together the experience of AFFECT members and the information contained within HMPrison booklets to create a straightforward guide to prison telephone calls.

It is not possible to make a call directly to a prisoner

If an urgent message needs to be got to a prisoner, the prison Chaplin can sometimes be of help

Pinphones are used in all prisons and paid for from a prisoner's private cash

Different prisons will put different limits on how many and long calls can be

Many prisons operate incentive schemes for prisoners to earn extra calls

Limits may be set on who a prisoner can call. This is dependant on the category of the prison and the category of the prisoner. For high security prisons or prisoners, the call may be monitored. If monitored, both sides of the conversation may be recorded.

Telephone conversations with a prisoner must not:

	Discuss escape plans
	Reduce prison security
	Affect national security
	Help commit a criminal offence
	Help to break prison rules
	Contain threats
	Contain blackmail
	Be racially offensive
	Be obscene

If the rules are broken, calls may be monitored and recorded or stopped altogether.

AFFECT hope that this information aids you in planning a visit with your loved one. If we can help further, please contact us.