National Association of Official Prison Visitors

Last updated
National Association of Official Prison Visitors (UK)
Type Charity (registered charity number 1099041)
Founded1924
Headquarters
Website www.naopv.com

The National Association of Official Prison Visitors (NAOPV) is a British charity which coordinates the work of United Kingdom Official Prison Visitors (OPVs) and provides them with training and support.

Contents

The Association was formed in 1924, but traces its origins back to 1901, when prison visiting was first officially recognised. The Association became a registered charity in 2003.

Structure and functions

The Lord Chancellor is ex-officio President, and the Association is run at national level by a small Executive Committee elected by OPVs, and also by a General/Membership Secretary who may be an OPV and a member of the Association.

The executive committee maintains regular liaison with Prison Service staff at national and regional level; contact is also maintained with agencies working with offenders and those having interest in penal affairs. A regular newsletter is sent to all OPVs. [1] The NAOPV is often approached by the media for information on prison visiting matters and has several times been asked to testify to a House of Commons Committee.

Branches

The NAOPV has a Branch in each prison. [1] The NAOPV sees Branches as strengthening the application and independence of OPVs by giving them group identity. Liaison with prison staff widens experience on both sides. The Branch Chairman and Secretary are points of contact for OPVs, prison staff and other Branches in the region. Branches have joint-strength,[ clarification needed ] and receive support at regional and national level.

History

The first prison visitors in English and Welsh prisons were probably the family and friends of prisoners who came into prison bringing food and clothing, and this continues today with V.O. (Visiting Order) visits. Ministers of religion also made visits, as did officials carrying out inspections, but for many years there were few others. Early visitors included John Wesley who wrote of visits to Newgate Prison in London by Sarah Peters and Silas Todd and others who began visiting in October 1748. Sarah Martin of Yarmouth began prison visiting in 1810 and was mentioned by the prison inspectorate to be still visiting in 1835. Many names of these early visitors were not recorded.

John Howard (prison reformer)'s 1777 book State of the Prisons and his testimonies in Parliament had raised awareness of prison conditions. It was, however, with the advent of Elizabeth Fry's visits to Newgate Prison in 1813 that prison visiting became something of "a cause". To enable co-operation between prison visitors she and others formed the "Ladies Association for the Female Prisoners in Newgate". In 1901 this organisation became a national one, the Lady Visitors' Association. [2]

By 1900 members of this Association" were visiting young male prisoners in addition to females, and in 1922 this was officially recognised at the Boys' Prison at Wandsworth (subsequently transferred to Wormwood Scrubs). Gradually Lady Visitors began to visit adult male prisoners too, although for many years this was without official sanction.

It took far longer for men to become involved in the voluntary visiting of male prisoners in any official way, and it was not until Herbert Gladstone's Committee on Prisons of 1895 [1] [3] that the idea gained any credence. Even then it was to be many years (the 1920s) before adult male prisoners were able to have the benefit of a male visitor on anything like a regular basis. This was because the presence in prison of a male chaplain was thought sufficient. In 1922 an organisation was formed, at first named "Men Visitors Association to Men"; this was soon changed to "The National Association of Prison Visitors" (NAPV). [1] This organisation was at first for men only, but in 1944 the two single sex groups amalgamated and kept the name of the National Association of Prison Visitors. [2]

Sheila Ramsay Lochhead who was chair of the organisation for three years [4] wrote a history of prison visiting in 1993 titled "Outside-in: A Study of Prison Visiting". [5]

In 2003 the Association became a registered charity and changed its name to the present "National Association of Official Prison Visitors" (NAOPV), and at the present time promotes and encourages visiting by several hundred Official Prison Visitors in English and Welsh penal establishments.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newgate Prison</span> Former prison in London

Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, the prison was extended and rebuilt many times, and remained in use for over 700 years, from 1188 to 1902.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Fry</span> English social reformer (1780–1845)

Elizabeth Fry, sometimes referred to as Betsy Fry, was an English prison reformer, social reformer, philanthropist and Quaker. Fry was a major driving force behind new legislation to improve the treatment of prisoners, especially female inmates, and as such has been called the "Angel of Prisons". She was instrumental in the 1823 Gaols Act which mandated sex-segregation of prisons and female warders for female inmates to protect them from sexual exploitation. Fry kept extensive diaries, in which the need to protect female prisoners from rape and sexual exploitation is explicit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Howard (prison reformer)</span> English prison reformer and philanthropist

John Howard FRS was a philanthropist and early English prison reformer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HM Prison Pentonville</span> Mens prison in London

HM Prison Pentonville is an English Category B men's prison, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Pentonville Prison is not in Pentonville, but is located further north, on the Caledonian Road in the Barnsbury area of the London Borough of Islington, north London. In 2015 the justice secretary, Michael Gove, described Pentonville as "the most dramatic example of failure" within the prisons estate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">His Majesty's Prison Service</span> Government service managing most of the prisons within England and Wales

His Majesty's Prison Service (HMPS) is a part of HM Prison and Probation Service, which is the part of His Majesty's Government charged with managing most of the prisons within England and Wales.

A military prison is a prison operated by a military. Military prisons are used variously to house prisoners of war, unlawful combatants, those whose freedom is deemed a national security risk by the military or national authorities, and members of the military found guilty of a serious crime. There are two types: penal and confinement-oriented, where captured enemy combatants are confined for military reasons until hostilities cease. Most militaries have some sort of military police unit operating at the divisional level or below to perform many of the same functions as civilian police, from traffic-control to the arrest of violent offenders and the supervision of detainees and prisoners of war.

A conjugal visit is a scheduled period in which an inmate of a prison or jail is permitted to spend several hours or days in private with a visitor. The visitor is usually their legal spouse. The generally recognized basis for permitting such visits in modern times is to preserve family bonds and increase the chances of success for a prisoner's eventual return to ordinary life after release from prison. They also provide an incentive for inmates to comply with the various day-to-day rules and regulations of the prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaols Act 1823</span> Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to reform prisons

The Gaol Act, sometimes called the Gaol Act 1823, the Gaols Act 1823, the Gaols, etc. (England) Act 1823, the Prison Act 1823, or the Prisons Act 1823, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to reform prisons. The Gaols Act 1823 mandated i) sex segregated prisons and ii) female warders for female prisoners across the whole of the then British Empire.

The Howard League for Penal Reform is a registered charity in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest penal reform organisation in the world, named after John Howard. It was founded as the Howard Association in 1866 and changed its name in 1921, following a merger with the Penal Reform League. The charity focuses on penal reform in England and Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret MacDonald (social reformer)</span>

Margaret Ethel MacDonald was a British feminist, social reformer, and wife of Labour politician Ramsay MacDonald from 1896 until her death from blood poisoning in 1911.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Paterson (penologist)</span>

Sir Alexander Henry Paterson MC, known to his friends as Alec Paterson, was a British penologist who, as Commissioner of Prisons, introduced reforms that would provide a humane regime in penal institutions and encourage rehabilitation among inmates. He was the main force behind the development of Borstals and gained an international reputation as a great prison reformer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prison Advice and Care Trust</span> UK charity that provides services for prisoners and their families

The Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) is an independent UK charity that provides practical services for prisoners and prisoners' families. First established as the Catholic Prisoners Aid Society in 1898, Pact works at several prisons across England and Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prison</span> Institution in which people are legally physically confined

A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, lock-up, hoosegow or remand center, is a facility in which convicted criminals are confined involuntarily and denied a variety of freedoms under the authority of the state as punishment for various crimes. Authorities most commonly use prisons within a criminal-justice system: people charged with crimes may be imprisoned until their trial; those who have pled or been found guilty of crimes at trial may be sentenced to a specified period of imprisonment.

Susanna Meredith was a 19th-century Irish-born prison visitor and pioneer for the rehabilitation of female prisoners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT people in prison</span> LGBTQ in prison

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people face difficulties in prison such as increased vulnerability to sexual assault, other kinds of violence, and trouble accessing necessary medical care. While much of the available data on LGBTQ inmates comes from the United States, Amnesty International maintains records of known incidents internationally in which LGBTQ prisoners and those perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender have suffered torture, ill-treatment and violence at the hands of fellow inmates as well as prison officials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York State Division of Parole</span>

The New York State Division of Parole was an agency of the government of New York within the New York State Correctional Services from 1930 to 2011. § 259. "1. There shall be in the executive department of state government a state division of parole" responsible for parole, the supervised release of a prisoner before the completion of his/her sentence. In 2011, the agency merged with the Department of Correctional Services to form the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prisons in the Republic of Ireland</span> Criminal detention facilities in Ireland

Prisons in Ireland are one of the main forms of punishment, rehabilitation, or both for the commission of an indictable offense and other offenses.

A prison visitor is a person who visits prisons to befriend and monitor the welfare of prisoners in general, as distinct from a person who visits a specific prisoner to whom they have a prior connection. Prisons may also have a visiting committee.

The Clink Restaurant concept was founded by Alberto Crisci in 2009 and are a major part of The Clink Charity's prisoner rehabilitation initiatives. The charity aims to break the cycle of crime by changing attitudes, creating second chances and reducing reoffending rates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheila Lochhead</span> British prison visitor

Sheila Lochhead born Sheila Ramsay MacDonald was a hostess, prison visitor and writer. In 1924 her widowed father became Britain's Prime Minister. Her sister Ishbel MacDonald, became his political hostess and then Sheila took on the role. Sheila gave up politics to become a leading prison visitor leading the National Association of Official Prison Visitors for three years.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 LIONEL W FOX (23 July 2013). English Pris&Borstal Ils 205. Routledge. p. 205. ISBN   978-1-136-26638-6.
  2. 1 2 Richard Creese; J. Bearn (1 January 1995). Health of Prisoners: Historical Essays. Rodopi. p. 94. ISBN   90-5183-869-7.
  3. Christopher Harding, ‘'The Inevitable End of a Discredited System'? The Origins of the Gladstone Committee Report on Prisons, 1895’, Historical Journal, 31 (1988), pp. 591-608
  4. Lyon, Peter (2004-09-23). MacDonald, Malcolm John (1901–1981), politician and diplomatist. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31388.
  5. Lockhead, Sheila (February 1999). Outside in: Study I Visiting. William Sessions Limited. ISBN   978-1-85072-121-5.