Official Prison Visitors (OPVs) are drawn from many different walks of life and are men and women from a variety of backgrounds from within the community. OPVs can be appointed at any age between 21 and 70 years, and usually retire at 75, although there is a degree of flexibility about the latter.Their appointment is at the discretion of the Governor of the prison in question, but it is worth noting that successful applicants are selected for their calibre and lack of bias, and they must satisfy the security requirements of C.T.C. and C.R.B.. Once appointed OPVs must not expound their religious or political views:- the NAOPV is not an evangelising organisation.
Official Prison Visiting can be rewarding, frustrating or heartbreaking depending on circumstances, but whatever the OPV's personal feelings there can be little doubt that he or she will have made a difference to the prisoner who has been visited.
Many times the OPV may leave the prisoner and feel that he or she has achieved very little, but over time the cumulative effect of regular, friendly and non-judgemental contact with an unpaid, non-uniformed person from "the outside" can, and often does, make a positive difference.
The OPV must always remember that he or she is there for the prisoner, not the other way round! The prisoner is not there to feed the OPV's ego or sense of self worth. Nevertheless many prisoners like to feel "involved" enough with their OPV to listen to everyday "outside" worries as well as talk about their own problems.
Probably the most important attributes an OPV can have are:-
Common sense. (Lots of it!)
Compassion.
A Sense of Humour.
Patience.
If you have all of the above and are willing to give of your time, you just could become one of the people to join the privileged group who are OPVs.
Do you have "Time to Listen. Time to Share. Time to Care."??
Being an OPV is a responsibility. Although each newly appointed OPV is issued with the "Handbook for Official Prison Visitors", the OPV will find that each individual prison is different. Some prisons are modern, others appear (outwardly at least) to have changed little since they were built in Victorian times, some are privately administered, the majority are part of the state system and some have been converted to their present use from other institutions (e.g. former military camps or grand family houses). Prisons, and prisoners, are differentiated by different categories, with Category A being the highest risk and Category D being the lowest risk. Prisoners can be re-categorised during their sentence.
Obviously Official Prison Visiting will vary from one establishment to another, depending on circumstances. Some things, however, are constant. The security of the prison, its staff, prisoners and volunteers is paramount and the OPV must never do anything to compromise this. Prisoners who have applied to see an OPV are usually pleased to see their Visitor, although there may be times when, for a variety of reasons, the prisoner may reject their visit and the OPV must be ready to accept this. OPVs should also be aware of the pressures felt by prison staff, officers will often be found to be helpful and friendly, especially if OPVs take the trouble to get to know them. However, officers have their job to do, and at times that job may lead to an officer refusing, or being unable to help an OPV with a specific request. It is important that the OPV recognises this fact.
How much time does visiting take up? There is no hard and fast rule, some OPVs will spend an hour or two a month, others may spend three hours or more each week.
Prisons are a different world, in fact a "world within a world" and any visitor from the outside needs to remember this. If they do then Official Prison Visiting can prove to be a worthwhile, warm and truly rewarding task and responsibility.
HOW DO I BECOME AN OFFICIAL PRISON VISITOR?
Physical conditions in the prisons of England and Wales vary due to their purpose, the length of time a prisoner is expected to spend there and, of course, the age of the prison itself. However, conditions should always meet minimum standards of decency and care.
The late Sir Stephen Tumim, former Chief Inspector Of Prisons, picked out this quote from President Havel of Czechoslovakia as being an accurate description of what prison life is like: "I used to think prison must be endless boredom and without anything much to worry about except the basic problem of making the time pass quickly, but now I've discovered it's not like that. There are plenty of worries here all the time and though they may seem trivial to the normal world, they are not at all trivial in the prison concept. In fact, you are always having to chase after something, hunt for something, keep an eye on something, hold your ground against something. It's constant strain on the nerves, someone is always twanging on them, exacerbated by the fact that in many important instances you cannot behave authentically and must keep your real thoughts to yourself."
The above quote first appeared in the Relational Justice Bulletin and has also appeared in the Prison Service Journal.
There are many advantages for Official Prison Visitors in joining the NAOPV. The information in this section was put together by Barbara Crompton, one of our Regional Secretaries, in order to help those OPVs who wish to set up a Branch in their local prison. It is equally helpful for those OPVs who are deciding whether or not to join the NAOPV.
The NAOPV maintains and promotes the work of Official Prison Visitors. Support to and from Branches promotes a two-way exchange of information and ideas. Local problems can be tackled at Branch level: if that fails, it can be passed to the Executive Committee who have direct access to Prison Service Personnel.
Officers of the Association frequently discuss policy matters concerning Prison Visiting with Prison Service representatives.
One of the strengths of being an NAOPV member lies in the fact that working with support from others is always stronger than trying to "go it alone". Belonging to an NAOPV local Branch is a way of outwardly strengthening an individual OPVs inner dedication and application. Attending Branch Meetings, to which prison staff can be invited, widen the OPV's experience of the "world within a world" which is "Prison Life" just by conversation and the sharing of contrasting roles of the staff and volunteers.
H.M.Prison Service (now NOMS) actively supports the NAOPV and its work. It also provides the NAOPV with an annual grant, which together with annual Subscriptions from members and other donations funds the work of the Association.
Finally the work of the NAOPV would be strengthened even more if all Official Prison Visitors were to join the Association. We would then be able to speak "in one voice", democratically and authoritatively on Prison Visiting matters which are, without a doubt, very dear to our hearts and a major factor in our lives. Prison Visiting has survived, often against the odds, for more than 80 years. Those who wish to preserve this profoundly unique and amazing voluntary work - please join your colleagues in the NAOPV.
