27 February 2019
Prisoners will be able to communicate easily and frequently with friends, family and support services thanks to a new email-style service.
Following a successful one-month trial, the prison has this week rolled out Email A Prisoner, which allows people to set up accounts to email prisoners. The email message will be printed inside the prison and included in the daily mail delivery. Prisoners can hand write their reply, which will be scanned and sent to the Email A Prisoner service. This optional reply will be paid for by the sender at the cost of 40p.
The service, which is widely available in UK prisons, includes the option to attach up to four photographs. Email A Prisoner runs software to redact any pornographic images or offensive words.
Prison Governor Nick Cameron said that the service will allow prisoners to communicate more effectively with their loved ones, as well as lawyers, probation officers and other services.
“We undertook a trial of Email A Prisoner for approximately one month,” he said. “Four prisoners were involved in the trial and found it was a useful way to keep in touch with family, friends and support services. It is important that prisoners maintain communication with the outside world so that they have a better chance of successful rehabilitation after their release.”
The email communication will be treated as postal mail in terms of handling, logging and distribution. However, whereas mail was only received Monday to Friday, emails can be received seven days a week.
Email A Prisoner was set up by former UK prisoner Derek Jones.
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