AVID LAUNCHES NEW RESEARCH REPORT: VISITING DETAINEES IN MAINSTREAM PRISONS

In 2007 AVID was approached by the Independent Monitoring Board National Council and Prison Chaplains with a request to help support foreign national prisoners with spent sentences being held in main stream prisons under immigration acts (detainees).

The short term project which resulted from this request was funded by the Sigrid Rausing Trust, and completed by Dr Mary Bosworth of the University of Oxford. The initial brief comprised three objectives:

- To devise and implement a strategy for setting up or supporting volunteer visitors groups to support time-served foreign national prisoners

- To provide training and support for visitors, working in partnership with relevant organisations

- To set out proposals on how AVID should take forward the work supporting detained ex-foreign national prisoners

The report, available here, charts the progress of this project, and gives comprehensive background information on visiting this forgotten group. Work will continue over the next couple of months with pilot training sessions to test and refine the training materials. A session has already taken place with a new group in Oxford and a second is planned in Manchester. These sessions will be evaluated before the final training materials are made available.

The research unearthed some critical factors to consider, for example the need to set boundaries, issues of confidentiality, respect for privacy and a duty of care towards volunteers. These should all be considered before undertaking what may be a long term commitment in terms of visiting. AVID held workshops with various stakeholders, and these questions prompted lively and searching discussions from different professional angles, the outcomes of which are included in the report.

For existing groups, and for new groups anticipating extending their remit into visiting detainees in prison, the full report will be a valuable tool for training, information and evaluation.

The report also highlights the need for further work, for which further funding will have to be found. For further information or to become involved in this project, contact Sally Tarshish, AVID Chairman.