On reception into prison, you will be searched and may be photographed. The prison authorities will keep any property that you are not allowed to have with you in prison. A list will be made on arrival of all property and you must be given the opportunity to check it is correct before signing it.
All cash must be paid into an account, which is under the governor's control. All prisoners should be issued on arrival with a copy of the Prisoners' Information Handbook. A copy of the Prison Rules must be made available to any prisoner who requests it. Prisoners retain certain basic rights, which survive despite imprisonment.
The rights of access to the courts and of respect for one’s bodily integrity - that is, not to be assaulted - are such fundamental rights. Others may be recognized as the law develops. Prisoners lose only those civil rights that are taken away either expressly by an Act of Parliament or by necessary implication. For example, one right taken away by statute is that prisoners detained following conviction do not have a right to vote.
The test in every case is whether the right is fundamental and whether there is anything in the Prison Act 1952, the Prison Rules 1999 or elsewhere which authorizes the prison authorities to limit such a right.The test now applied is that the State can only place limits on prisoners' rights if they are necessary for the prevention of crime or for prison security. Any limitations placed upon such rights must also be proportionate to the aim that the authorities are seeking to achieve. There are a large number of cases that have been heard by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) which help clarify the extent to which limitations can be imposed.
In law, the Prison Rules have legal force only in so far as the Prison Act 1952 gives authority for the Rule: legal challenges to the Rules have been successful in cases where the courts have held that the Prison Act 1952 does not authorize the scope of a particular Rule. The Prison Rules provide a structure and framework for the regulation of prison life. Breach of the Rules by the prison authorities does not of itself give you the right to sue in the courts for damages. More detailed instructions are given in the Standing Orders and Prison Service Orders and Instructions.
These are internal directives, which govern the conduct of prison life issued to prison governors and prison officers. They do not have any direct legal force in that they can be challenged if they breach the scope of the Prison Act or Prison Rules. They are, however, a vital source of information about prisoners’ rights and entitlements and can provide important evidence as to the proper practice that should be adopted by the prison authorities. A failure to follow the guidance contained in these documents cannot amount to a denial of a prisoner’s legitimate expectation.Within prison, complaints and/or requests may be made in person, or in writing to a governor or to the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB). A governor must be available each day to hear complaints or requests.
You need not give the reason for your application to see the governor and an application may be made direct in writing and in confidence to the governor or chair of IMB. You will have to give a reason if you wish the complaint to be dealt with in confidence, and it may be that the person complained about will be told of the complaint anyway - which rather discourages complaints of this nature.If a complaint is made to the governor, you should normally receive a written reply within seven days. Some issues - called reserved subjects - may only be dealt with by NOMS. These include parole, transfer to or removal from mother and baby units, Category A status, life sentence prisoners’ transfers and deportation. Complaints on these issues will be dealt with by the relevant department and should also be replied to within six weeks.
The booklet How to Make a Request or Complaint: Information for Prisoners, which details the procedures, should be available in prison libraries.The Ombudsman can investigate complaints only when the internal complaints system has been exhausted. You must complain within one month of the final decision made by NOMS. The complaint should normally be made personally by you, or with your signed authority, but the Ombudsman will usually accept complaints made by solicitors on behalf of their clients.
The Ombudsman will normally take around twelve weeks to investigate the matter and will then issue a report either upholding or rejecting the complaint. If it is upheld, recommendations will be made to NOMS about the individual case and any general issues that it raises.The Ombudsman cannot investigate decisions made by the Parole Board, decisions made personally by Ministers or clinical judgments made by medical staff. You may also raise complaints with any outside organization or person, for example, your MP, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, the European Parliament, the ECHR, and the police.
Petitions may also be made to the Queen and Parliament. Prisoners have the absolute right to commence legal proceedings in the courts either in person or through a solicitor.Prisoners can conduct: • Normal civil proceedings such as divorce or breach of contract. • Cases where the prisoner is suing the prison authorities, for example, for assault or medical negligence. • Judicial review in the High Court of an administrative or disciplinary decision that affects him or her. The High Court has reviewed a wide range of decisions by the prison authorities, including parole and parole revocation, security categorization, transfer, censorship, segregation and the separation of a mother from her baby.
The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 applies to prisons, and discrimination - for example, in the allocation of jobs - would be actionable in the courts. The High Court will intervene by way of judicial review only when it can be shown that a decision has been taken which is wrong in law - for example, where the prison authorities had no power to do what they did - or the decision was flawed by procedural unfairness. A breach of the Prison Rules does not automatically give a prisoner grounds to sue the prison authorities to obtain compensation for their failure to comply with the Rules.In such cases, the prisoner will need to establish some form of compassable loss or damage resulting from the breach of the Rules. At present, if you are a prisoner acting without a solicitor and wish to be produced at court to present your case in person you must apply to the prison governor by completing the relevant request form.
This includes a requirement that you undertake to pay the costs of your production. These costs should be limited to production from the prison nearest to the court and the level at which they are set should have regard to what you can actually afford to pay.The courts have recognized that there may be an appearance of bias if the Home Office refused to produce at court a prisoner who was unable or who had refused to give an undertaking as to costs in an action when the Home Office is the defendant to the action. If you are faced with this difficulty you should apply to the court that is to hear your action for guidance. Any refusal to produce a prisoner, particularly when the action is against the Home Office may be in breach of Article 6 of the Convention, the right to a fair trial.
As a prisoner you have an absolute right to have visits from and to correspond with your solicitor. You do not have to tell the prison authorities why you wish to contact your solicitor, nor make any complaint about prison treatment to the authorities before contacting a solicitor for legal advice. This right was first recognized by the ECHR and any attempts to interfere with such access are closely scrutinized by the courts. This right also includes preserving the confidentiality of any legally privileged material held by prisoners in their possession in prison.
