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FIRST NIGHT IN CUSTODY

'I was in a state when I arrived here, feeling suicidal and frightened. I was worried about what Social Services would do with my three children. Thank you for making all the calls you did to find out that my children were safe. I don't know what I would have done without your help.'

A listening ear - plus practical assistance
Anxiety, self-harm and suicide
Making a difference
Critical friend reviews
First Night in Custody toolkit
Contact details

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A listening ear - plus practical assistance
The aim of our First Night in Custody scheme is to reduce the anxiety and distress felt by prisoners on their first night in prison. A pact worker will sit down with the prisoner, listen to their concerns, offer emotional support and reassurance, and provide practical assistance when needed.

Our workers will often telephone the prisoner's family to break the news that their loved one has been sent to prison. They'll also make calls to employers, lawyers or landlords on the prisoner's behalf. We can refer the prisoner to a range of internal services such as the prison chaplains and counselling services.

At Holloway women's prison, our pact workers often deal with mothers who are frantically worried about what has happened to their children. We contact family members and Social Services to make sure the children are safe.

Anxiety, self-harm and suicide
Many new prisoners arrive at prison very shocked and in distress. Research shows that two-thirds of remand prisoners were not expecting to get a prison sentence and so are especially vulnerable.

Between 1997 and 2005, 748 prisoners took their own lives, and the first 72 hours in custody is the most dangerous time. Levels of self-harm among prisoners are also very high.

The majority of women prisoners have never been in prison before. Most are young, and two-thirds are the mothers of dependent children. Many have suffered physical and sexual abuse. Along with male prisoners, they share factors which are influential in, if not the direct cause of, criminal behaviour: poverty, poor housing, neglect, and broken homes. Levels of drug addiction and mental health problems are high.

Making a difference
By offering practical and emotional support to vulnerable prisoners on their first evening in prison, pact aims to help reduce the very high levels of anxiety shown by some prisoners, and to reduce the possibility of self-harm or suicide.

In December 2007, the Prison Reform Trust published an independent report into pact's First Night in Custody services, in which they commend our work. Read the report here

An evaluation of our First Night in Custody service Holloway Prison, published in 2002, found that it had led to large reductions in anxiety, thereby helping to prevent cases of self-harm and suicide later on.

Critical friend reviews
We offer prisons a first night and early days 'critical friend' service - an independent confidential review carried out by experienced pact managers.

The purpose of our critical friend reviews is to assist prison governors and staff to provide a humane and safe service for new prisoners, and to build upon the good work they already do in this area.

If your prison would be interested in having a pact critical friend review, please contact our senior manager for first night and early days, Mark Williamson: 07774 245853 or mark.williamson@prisonadvice.org.uk

First Night in Custody toolkit
By the spring, pact plans to create a toolkit to provide more prisons with practical training, guidance and resources - enabling them to develop their own first night and early days practice.

Contact details
For more information about our First Night in Custody projects, please contact Mark Williamson, our Senior Services and Development Manager (First Night and Family Services):

If you want to talk to our First Night teams at HMP Holloway and HMP Wandsworth, you can reach them in the following ways:

HMP Holloway
Sandra Duhaney,Manager
020 7979 4688
Sandra.Duhaney@hmps.gsi.gov.uk

HMP Wandsworth
Mark Williamson, Manager
020 8588 4580
info@prisonadvice.org.uk


First night in custody


"Mrs B arrived at Holloway Prison after being sentenced to six months in jail for driving whilst disqualified. She was very distressed and tearful. I sat down to talk with her one-to-one. After a few minutes she appeared a lot calmer, and started to tell me her story..." Read more