admin
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449 Posts
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08/04/2009 08:00:00
POST DATE
16/04/2009 03:08:10 |
Following the request by a forum member for me to discuss my treatment in Craiginches, I have started this topic here for members to discuss how they feel about what they know on the subject. In my experience I know that a remander prisoner certainly is not assumed innocent and often their family visiting them are treated very disrespectfully. This topic should be reserved for posts about Craiginches, if your experiences are regarding another facility please start a new topi if one does not already exist for it.
edited by admin on 16/04/2009
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black
43 Posts
Member Since
16/04/2009 02:30:32
POST DATE
07/05/2009 07:23:02 |
Hi Billy, This is probably in the wrong section, but visiting prison is daunting for many for the first time, no one knows what to expect. Half an hour is not long but i expect it is a long time for children considering they have had to wait half an hour before they even get into see their loved ones. Someone pointed out to me that there is no specific area when families with children are visiting. ie a quieter space that may be less daunting on children.
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All good things come to those that wait!
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admin
Member's Home Page
449 Posts
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08/04/2009 08:00:00
POST DATE
07/05/2009 13:46:17 |
Again facilities in different prisons vary and some are more able to accommodate the children than others. In Craiginches it is one room crammed with tables each prisoner and their visitors sit around and yes understandably children do get restless. Those which visited me were always very well behaved and were commented on by the staff at how good they were. However at the same time I have had visits where it is virtually impossible to hear whats being said from a couple of feet away because of the noise, its far from ideal but for those with families very much need to see them. I know of people who have been cleared of charges brought against them and have therefore as a result of injustice been denied the chance to see their own child, some who have lost children while in prison and can never see them again. The ordeal is far from over when someone is released I can assure you, for many the agony goes on indefinitely.
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SandraLean
36 Posts
Member Since
27/04/2009 08:57:53
POST DATE
12/05/2009 11:26:00 |
Perhaps slightly off topic, but in response to Black's post, that prison visiting is daunting, this is an area that the media need to take into account when they sensationalise stories and demonise accused persons. The figure they (the media) have created lives on long after the headlines have died away, and the media have moved on to their next feeding frenzy.
Anyone who has visited someone who has been presented in the press as a "monster," "evil," etc knows how utterly terrifying such visits are - other visitors can be hostile, threatening, abusive, etc. It's one thing inside the prison, but everyone has to get to and from the prison as well, and that's where the real danger is.
Just thought I'd mention it.
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Justice 4 Brendan
Member's Home Page
184 Posts
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20/04/2009 14:31:53
POST DATE
12/05/2009 11:49:51 |
John Bynorth did a story last year about Dumfries prison and me visiting. Sandra. You cannot get in to visit with your birth certificate you need a passport or a citazen card that costs about £20 pounds each, You dont really get help with prison visits expenses for all the family just the next of kin.
Nobody can prepare you for your first visit, it can be unsettling and upsetting.
Every time you visit Dumfries there are about 10 hope visitors there, i think they do a great job but dont get the respect they should get.
edited by Justice 4 Brendan on 12/05/2009
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"I hear much of people calling to punish the guilty, but few are concerned to clear the innocent" Daniel Defoe 1661-1731
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admin
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449 Posts
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08/04/2009 08:00:00
POST DATE
12/05/2009 17:22:32 |
John Bynorth did a story last year about Dumfries prison and me visiting. Sandra. You cannot get in to visit with your birth certificate you need a passport or a citazen card that costs about £20 pounds each, You dont really get help with prison visits expenses for all the family just the next of kin.
Nobody can prepare you for your first visit, it can be unsettling and upsetting.
Every time you visit Dumfries there are about 10 hope visitors there, i think they do a great job but dont get the respect they should get.
edited by Justice 4 Brendan on 12/05/2009
Well now see, this is one of the things that gets me grrrrrr.
I'm not sure who told you that you can't get assistance for all the family, depending on the income you can though it isn't exactly shouted about. This is from the assisted Assisted Prison Visit Scheme and information that should be provided to all family members as soon as someone is remanded in custody regardless of whether they are remanded or convicted.
"Can I get help with the cost of prison visits?
If you are aged 18 or over and on a qualifying income, you may be able to get help with the cost of travel when visiting a close relative or partner through the Assisted Prison Visits Scheme.
What is a ‘close relative or partner'?
A close relative means a wife, husband, daughter, son, parent, grandparent, sister, brother, civil partner or a step or adoptive parent/child/brother/sister."
It is not limited to one person, but each individual's income does affect it.
All the necessary forms are available in PDF format either through the link on the Advice search page, or this one. Assisted Prison Visits It's the same for Scotland, England and Wales, infact its the same address that all forms must be sent to. My problem with the system is however how they decide what a visitor is entitled to and the fact that the visit must be made first and claimed back later. Obviously someone who has nothing can't afford to get there in the first place.
Also, it's not proper to divulge people's ages. But I don't think my parents will object to my raising this issue and sorry if it's a bit of a rant but its necessary. Very soon after my arrest my dad suffered a heart attack, obviously the sudden and serious shock and stress was a significant factor and my mum already was already receiving treatment for high blood pressure which had to be increased or there would have been a risk of her having one too. Now I know you're wondering what that has to do with travel and prison visits but where we live there is a 12+ hour overnight ferry crossing, assisted visits would pay for their tickets onto the boat but not for the cabin for them to sleep in. Disgusting, two seriously anxious, now retired victims of injustice with heart related medical conditions expected to sleep on chairs in full view of any passengers who were walking about for more than 12 hours BOTH ways in the middle of a high profile case, is it just me or can everyone see how wrong that is?
edited by admin on 12/05/2009
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Justice 4 Brendan
Member's Home Page
184 Posts
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20/04/2009 14:31:53
POST DATE
12/05/2009 19:21:23 |
Sorry Billy i should have explained more, Marie, Brendan's sister is the only one who gets money from assisted visits, his family all live in Ireland.
As we are not Married shame on us even though we have been together 15 years they do not treat us as family, only his paternal family are given anything for visits.
That is terrible about your Mum and Dad, shame on the system for showing no respect on someone who did not deserve that.
But the system has no respect, they treat us all with contemp, and we might as well be in prison with the accused, at least we would be together.
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"I hear much of people calling to punish the guilty, but few are concerned to clear the innocent" Daniel Defoe 1661-1731
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admin
Member's Home Page
449 Posts
Member Since
08/04/2009 08:00:00
POST DATE
12/05/2009 20:41:43 |
Sorry, its me that misunderstood you I think. Good thing we've cleared that up, I was about to get on the phone first thing and create merry hell.
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Billysis
Member's Home Page
25 Posts
Member Since
28/04/2009 14:23:53
POST DATE
12/05/2009 22:06:17 |
Well I feel I could talk about this all day!
Firstly the assisted vistors scheme sounds great-it really gave me a boost and thought we could get help to visit as much as every 2 weeks, unfortunately as my hasband is self employed and did not have his accounts done for the current year we could not claim (who self employed does until the end of the financial year) last years is not good enough so basically if your self employed you can't claim either!
As for taking children into visit-I found the whole thing a complete nightmare. I took my boys aged 18 months and 3 and a half and I fretted about it for weeks before hand as I had already been and knew it wouldn't be easy. luckily they did behave and where fairly content. As our visits tended to be 2 x half hour visits together it was a long sit for them with no toys allowed in, no juice or snacks, no bright pictures on the wall to look at-nothing! Now any child would be unsettled in this enviroment. Then I must admit it was always at the back of my mind that I was willfully taking my children to sit in a room possibly full of people who are lets just say less then nice to children-not an easy thing to think about. Maybe they could have 1 or 2 child friendly visiting sessions per week/day depending on demand, I realise it would invlove more work for them and I realise now as soon as I've written it how rediculous an idea it is-anyway found the whole set up an absolute disaster as far as kids are concerned.
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bigsis
Member's Home Page
52 Posts
Member Since
29/04/2009 21:18:57
POST DATE
12/05/2009 23:04:53 |
assisted visitors scheme ............. i too thought i would get help as i am a stay at home mum with no income, but no i could not get help either as my husband earns.
I too took my children into visit. I have to agree that because our family tried to visit on a 2-3 weekly basis we would often book for 2 half hour visits with a 15 minutes wait inbetween them, waiting up to half an hour before going into the visiting room, like billysis says no toys allowed in, no juice or snacks and i clearly remember a few posters on the wall that i would not have liked my other children to have seen. My eldest son was speechless following his visit, i thought i had prepared him for what to expect but even with that knowledge, he was in shock, utter disbelief of what he had just seen.
I totally think that setting up a child friendly visiting session is not a rediculous idea, its one of common sense and could never understand how it was not in place other than overcrowding and staff shortages.
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