NOTE FROM THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
The Executive Committee of the NAOPV strongly recommend that OPVs do not work for any other voluntary organisation in the same establishment where they are appointed as OPVs. This will not only avoid a conflict of interests, but may avoid OPVs inadvertently breaking any rules or appearing to ignore Ministry of Justice guidance. There have been several cases in recent years where working for different organisations has resulted in problems for the OPV concerned, including dismissal or a request to resign.
The Ministry of Justice has requested that examples of "Good Practice in Official Prison Visiting" should be published on our website. This is, of course, not as easy as it seems as all establishments are different and OPVs are required to follow local rules. However there are some areas where standardisation can be used and what follows is a good example.
The documents outlined below have been successfully piloted in several Northern area prisons, but only the titles of the different sections are listed here as the Regional Secretaries' Co-ordinator is continually updating the information they contain. Branch Chairmen, Branch Secretaries or Liaison Officers can obtain the latest version by contacting their Regional Secretary who will forward their request to the Co-ordinator.
The Pack is divided into sections. Briefly, it comprises:
Section 1 - Advice to OPV Liaison Officer on OPV audit and suggested form(s) for smooth-running of the OPV team; relative information from PSO 4410.
Section 2 - What is an Official Prison Visitor? Information i) for the prison; ii) for the Official Prison Visitor; iii) for those interested in prison visiting.
Section 3 - Posters,referral leaflets; recruitment leaflet; suggested letter to prisoners who have requested an OPV but are on a waiting-list.
Section 4 - Ministry of Justice and HMPS Information (including Handbook, PSO 4410 and information to supplement PSO 4410).
Section 5 - Information about the NAOPV - i) its history; ii) why NAOPV? Why Branches? Why subscriptions? Advantages of membership.
Section 6 - Service Level Agreements and Official Prison Visitors.
Section 7 - Courses for OPVs - mandatory courses as set out in PSO 4410 - and advice re: other courses available from HMPS.
Section 8 - Advantages of wing-visiting.
Following several recent problems the Executive Committee wish to remind all OPVs (not just NAOPV members) that they SHOULD NOT give out their personal contact details, surnames, addresses, telephone numbers or email addresses to the prisoners they visit. This not only contravenes Prison Service guidance, but also breaks the local rules of most establishments. As stated above, there have been several recent incidents where OPVs who have ignored this ruling have had their contracts terminated by the Governor of the establishment.
The safest policy is still "nothing in, nothing out". It should be remembered that this does not just include items that are "taken in", such as books, papers etc. or "sent in", such as postal orders, clothing etc. but the personal contact details of an OPV.
Items sent by post via the prison mail room e.g. holiday postcards, greetings cards and occasional letters (perhaps explaining why a visit could not take place) are, of course, still acceptable, subject to local rulings.