Emails and letters
Communicating with prisons
It can be worrying and upsetting if you’re trying to get help for your loved one on the inside and it feels like nobody’s listening.
If you are going through this, try not to be hard on yourself – there are a lot of things in prison that will be out of your control.
You can maximise your chances of getting listened to by thinking about how you communicate. It can be hard if your emotions are running high, but by being polite, sticking to the facts and focusing on the key points, you’ll make it more likely that your message reaches the right person who can help.
- Focus on getting your own message across as clearly as you can. It’s often easier to get information into a prison than it is to get information out of it.
- Usually, the person in the prison who first receives your message will need to hand it on to their colleagues. Try to make it as easy as possible for them to quickly understand your issue and send it to the right department.
- The main ways you’ll be able to contact the prison are through phone calls, voicemail messages, emails and letters, and online Safer Custody forms.
- Don’t forget to keep notes of all your communication with the prison – who you’ve spoken to, when, and what was said, as well as any emails and paper trail. This will be useful if you need to follow up or in the event that you need to make a complaint.
- You might have some ups and downs along the way, so take care of yourself and make sure you’ve got someone supporting you too.
- Be kind to yourself. Try to accept the things you cannot change, have the courage to change the things you can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Step-by-step advice
