Prisoners' families & children Prison visitors' guides HMP YOI Peterborough This guide includes information that you may find useful for the duration of the time your family or friend is a resident at HMP YOI Peterborough. If you notice anything that is incorrect on this page, please contact us on [email protected] Any further information can be found on the prison website at https://www.hmppeterborough.co.uk/home or you can ring the main switchboard on 01733 217500. Visiting times Booking your visit At your visit Financial assistance for visits Sending property & money to a prisoner Keeping in touch Support & advice If you need support For more information, support and advice on all aspects of the justice system, you can contact the Prisoners’ Families Helpline on 0808 808 2003 (9am – 8pm Monday to Friday, and 10am – 3pm at the weekend). Address: HMP YOI PeterboroughSaville RoadWestwoodPeterboroughPE3 7PD Currently, Sodexo delivers visitor services at HMP Peterborough. Director: Damian Evans Controller: Hayley Folland Reporting resident welfare concerns If you have concerns about the welfare of a resident at HMP Peterborough, please call our confidential Safer Custody service: 01733 217577 (answer phone). Messages are monitored Monday to Friday by the Safer Prisons team, who will direct your concern to the appropriate team. You can also contact our Family Matters Team, who are available Monday to Friday on 01733 217500 extn 7170, 7221 or 7202. They can also be reached via email to [email protected] Urgent concerns should reported through the main switchboard - call 01733 217500 and hold until you are connected to the operator. Visitors’ Centre Telephone (include opening hours): Visitors’ Centre Email: Visiting Times We are pleased to be able to offer social visits for all of our residents, subject to Covid-19 prison guidelines. We are operating Purple Visits to enable residents to have video calls with friends and loved ones. Legal visits are currently continuing, although we recommend that appointments be carried out via telephone or using our Video Conferencing Centre where possible. Social Visits Visits must be booked by the resident via our internal process and they must ensure that anyone they wish to visit them is registered on their 'approved visitors' list. Visits will initially be offered in the afternoon only - 13:30 and 15:15 for one hour No physical contact is permitted with visitors over the age of 11 and may result in your visit being terminated, unless you are participating in the Test & Hug pilot scheme All visitors and residents will be required to wear face coverings throughout the visit Visitors can be both friends and family, from up to two different households Visits will begin and end promptly, so please make sure that you are on time for your session Lateral Flow Device tests are available in our visits reception area, should you wish to be tested for Covid-19 prior to your visit - if so, please allow for the 30 minutes required to receive a result ahead of your visit time; you will not be able to wait inside the prison during this period. If you are participating in the Test & Hug pilot you must allow sufficient time to complete a Lateral Flow test prior to your visit. If you do not complete the test you will not be allowed to embrace the resident you are visiting. Purple Visits We are pleased to offer all residents access to the online app, Purple Visits, enabling video call visits with family and friends. This is a great way for you to support residents while the current restrictions on social visits are in place. Residents can book a session through the internal booking system - please note that to participate in a Purple Visits session you must first download the app to your mobile device (not laptop) to enable the booking to be confirmed. To download the app please visit https://www.purplevisits.com/ Our Purple Visits sessions are now only available in the evening and at the weekend (both male and female prisons), as a result of demand for use of the booths by Courts. Sessions available to book appear in purple, any time slots shown as grey are not available. Booking your visit: Residents are able to book social visits via Sodexo's internal process. Purple Visits are available for video calls with friends and loved ones. Who can visit? Visits will only be allowed by people who are symptom free, who have not been asked to self-isolate and who have not recently come into contact with anyone who has symptoms or is self-isolating. We can only allow a maximum of 3 visitors per visit. This can be made up of: A single adult (aged 18 or over) who must be a partner, parent, foster-parent, grandparent, carer, or significant other Two adults (aged 18 or over): Visitors can be from up to two different households and can be both friends and family. You will need to have ID with you to prove that you are from the same address – it needs to be photographic ID with your address, including the postcode. A single adult (aged 18 or over): who must be a partner, parent, foster-parent, grandparent, carer or adult close relative or significant other and up to two dependent children (e.g. son, daughter) of the person being visited Two adults (aged 18 or over): who must be two parents, two foster parents, two grandparents, two adult immediate relatives or significant other1, or a mixture of these (e.g. a parent and a grandparent); and one dependent child (e.g. son, daughter) of the person being visited At your visit To be able to offer visits in a way that keeps our residents, their visitors and our staff safe, we have made a range of changes to the way in which we book and operate social visits. The information below will help to explain some of those changes - please make sure that you familiarise yourself with the new requirements so that you know what to expect when you are arranging a visit. Key changes to be aware of: Relaxation of restrictions in the community may not be mirrored within the prison environment, so please ensure you check and abide by the rules in place within the prison Residents are permitted to hug children 11 years and under. No physical contact is permitted with any other visitor, unless you are participating in the Test & Hug pilot scheme Visitors are required to wear a face covering throughout their visit, from the time they arrice at the prison until they leave (children under 11 yrs are exempt) Visitor chairs are positioned 2m from the resident and everyone must remain seated at all times - children are permitted to leave their seat but must remain within the area of the visit; they must not be allowed to run around the visits hall. There are no screens between you as we want to make the visit as comfortable as it can be in the current circumstances, but physical contact is not permitted other than with children under 11 years of age. Visits last for one hour and will begin and end promptly, allowing time for thorough cleaning before the next visit session - please arrive no more than 45 prior to your visit time; late arrivals will not be permitted entry Lateral Flow Device testing is available in our visits entry area, should you wish to be tested for Covid-19 prior to your visit - if so, please allow for the 30-minute development time prior to your visit; you will not be able to wait inside the prison during this time If you are participating in the Test & Hug pilot, please ensure that you arrive in sufficient time to complete your Lateral Flow test ahead of your visit. Failure to do so will mean that you are not permitted to have physical contact with the resident who you are visiting We are constantly reviewing our procedures to ensure that we are offering you the best possible visits experience possible during these challenging times. We understand that visiting a prison can be quite daunting, especially if it is your first visit, so we try to make your experience as positive as possible. We want you to enjoy your visit so we operate a zero tolerance for violence and aggressive behaviour to help us maintain a calm, friendly environment. We also operate a zero tolerance policy for drugs and alcohol - we reserve the right to refuse entry to any visitor suspected of being intoxicated in any way. Please note, any visitors aged 17 years or under must be accompanied by an individual of at least 18 years of age. Any visitors under the age of 17 must have appropriate identification. Security: As you would expect, security is a major consideration for us so all visitors are required to comply with our rules of conduct and behaviour. Please make sure that you read the list of prohibited items carefully to avoid any confusion or delays. Identification Policy for Social Visits When you come for your visit you must bring one form of photo ID from list A below. If you are unable to provide any of these items, you must bring one document from list B plus one document from list C. Visitors under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult who must provide the required forms of identification. The accompanying adult has responsibility for the child and for giving assurances of the child's identity. List A - bring one item from this list Passport Identity card from an EU or EEA (European Economic Area) country UK photocard driving licence EU or EEA driving licence NI electoral identity card US passport card Proof of age card recognised under PASS with a unique reference number Armed forces identity card UK biometric residence permit List B - if you do not have any ID from list A, you must bring one from list B plus one from list C Home Office travel document (convention travel document, stateless person's document, one-way travel document or certificate of travel) Older person's bus pass Freedom Pass Proof of age card recognised under PASS without a unique reference number List C Birth or adoption certificate Education certificate from a regulated and recognised educational institution (eg NVQ, SQA, GCSE, A level or degree certificate) Rental or purchase agreement for a residential property (signed and dated) Marriage or civil partnership certificate Bank, building society or credit union current account card that shows your identity Sodexo reserve the right to refuse entry if there are concerns over the legitimacy of the documentation provided. For official visits, please see Visiting the prison (hmppeterborough.co.uk) Financial Assistance for Visits If you are on a low income or receive benefits you may be entitled to financial assistance for the cost of visiting your relative in prison. Help is provided by the Assisted Prison Visits Unit (APVU). Click here for more information: www.gov.uk/staying-in-touch-with-someone-in-prison Keeping in touch Phone To speak to a prisoner on the phone, the prisoner has to call you using a prison phone. Prison staff can listen to and record most types of call. Some calls are not monitored, for example, when a prisoner calls a legal advisor. Letters Letters to prisoners should be addressed to: HMP YOI PeterboroughSaville RoadWestwoodPeterboroughPE3 7PD (Prisoner’s name and prison number) You must write your own name and address on the back of the envelope or it will not be delivered to the prisoner. If you do not know the prisoners’ prison number, please address the envelope as above with the prisoner’s date of birth next to his name. Email This prison uses EmailaPrisoner.com. Through this service, family and friends can send a message which is printed out and delivered by prison staff by hand. Once you have signed up, you will receive an activation link via email which you must click on in order to activate your account and send a message. You must buy a minimum of £5 credit in order to use the service, which runs at a cost of 40p per email and at no charge to the recipient. Voicemail Family members and friends can sign up to PrisonVoicemail.com, a service which allows social contacts to exchange voicemails with prisoners. On signing up, you will be given a unique local landline number you can call at any time to leave a message; this message will be instantly available for your loved one to listen to. Prisoners can check their messages by dialling the same unique number from any phone in the prison and may leave a reply. When the message has been heard, the family member receives an instant text notification, signalling they may leave another message. In order to access messages, the prisoner pays the cost of a landline call, but the cost of the service itself is paid by the family or friend. Plans start from £5 per month. Sending Property to a Prisoner (If you work in a private prison you may need to update the information below to your prisons’ specific policy). All prisoners are able to buy the items that they want or need through the approved suppliers, whose catalogues are available in the prison. Any prisoner wishing to have clothes brought into the prison must first submit an application. Once the application has been approved by the prison, the item should be sent in the post directly to the prison with the prisoner’s name and a return address so that they can be checked and placed on the prisoner’s property card. Whilst prison staff will try to ensure the prisoner receives the items, this may not always be possible. In the case that the items are rejected, they will be returned to the visitor. Please avoiding bringing in the following items: plain black or navy items, polo shirts, no army style clothing or gang related clothing, no items with side pockets, no three quarter length trousers. The above process also applies to court clothes. Appropriate court clothes are defined as the following: suit trousers or skirt, shirt or blouse, jacket, tie, shoes, belt (no large buckles). Should there be any additional items within the package, they will be returned, and nothing will be passed on to the prisoner. Please note that court clothes are held in reception until the prisoner is actually going to court. Lastly, jeans, t-shirts and trainers will not be accepted as court clothes. How do I send money to a prisoner? (If you work in a private prison where the policy is different, please indicate by deleting the below text and writing private prison, and we will direct readers to contact the prison directly.) From 2nd November 2020 the way prisoners can send and receive money has changed. You can no longer send money by bank transfer, cheque, postal order or send cash by post to any prison. You’ll need to send money through the Money to Prisoners Portal using a debit card instead. The Money to Prisoners Portal service is free, secure and available in all prisons in England and Wales. To get started on the Portal you will need the prisoner's date of birth and prisoner number. If you cannot use the online service, you may be able to apply for an exemption - for example if you: are unable to use a computer, a smart phone or the internet do not have a debit card You cannot give money to the prisoner during a visit. Further Support and Advice If you have urgent concerns about the welfare of your loved one in prison, please call the prison Safer Custody line directly. Prisoners’ Families Helpline You can also contact the Prisoners’ Families Helpline for advice and support on all aspects of the criminal justice system: Call 0808 808 2003 (9am – 8pm Monday to Friday and 10am – 3pm Saturday and Sunday) Email the team on [email protected] Fill in a contact form and request a call back at prisonersfamilies.org Safer Custody Team If you are worried about your loved one while they are a resident at this prison, you can contact the Safer Custody team on 01733 217577 (answer phone). Messages are monitored Monday to Friday by the Safer Prisons team, who will direct your concern to the appropriate team. Please make sure you include: Your name. The reason that you are calling. The name of your family member/friend (and their prison number if you know it). Please wait at least 24 hours for a call back before contacting the prison again.