Letters To Support Application For Parole

It is probably unwise to offer to write a letter to support an application for parole, but on a very rare occasion your prisoner may ask you to help him in this way. This is a slightly tricky subject and we would appreciate your consulting the executive committee first before writing such a letter. Basically, you are ill advised to go into any discussion about the conviction or sentence. All that you would probably be qualified to say in such a letter would be the circumstances and length of your acquaintance with the person concerned, and without any ‘psychological assessment’, you could perhaps give an opinion on his state of mind, change of heart or intentions etc. This is an area where you have to be a little bit careful not to be ‘used’, and certainly you need never feel pressurised by the prisoner to do anything like this.

Passing On Messages Outside The Prison For The Prisoners

According to the rules it is not permitted to contact others outside the prison on the prisoner’s behalf without the permission of the Superintendent. Should a prisoner make this request of you, we advise you to sound helpful but non-committal until you have checked with the PFA Executive Committee.

“Gentle As Doves And As Wary As Serpents”

As in ordinary life, you can not totally believe everything you hear. Often you hear only one side of the story and that can be a very much edited version. Often those you visit will be very open, honest, humble and genuine – but probably not all. Not all recognise the truth anyway, even about themselves. Commonsense, sensitivity, sound judgment and perhaps a lack of gullibility are advisable. The prisoner’s world is not our world and he will evolve his own ways of coping. Our job is not to judge but to understand.

Being Used

Some prisoners are expert ‘con’ men. Experience helps one to judge sincerity. It is not necessarily always wrong to let them ‘use’ you to get the things they need, but be on guard and do not be afraid to set the limits in as friendly a way as possible.

Visits In The Middle Of The Sentence

After the initial shock of coming into prison and adjusting to the situation as best he can, the prisoner then has to cope with simply getting through the time. The visitor can help to relieve the monotony by supplying books, suggesting courses to study, encouraging the prisoner to do exercises (to keep fit and relieve tension) and generally try to help him to overcome the daily frustrations and problems.

Visits Leading Up To And Prior To Release

Release from prison, although eagerly awaited by every inmate, is nevertheless a time of high anxiety for the individual. Far from all his problems being solved on release, a new set of problems has to be faced. The visitor can help by discussing and thinking through with the inmate what can be done about work, accommodation, relationships etc. Some other organisations may be able to help (a list of some useful organisations are to be found in section 6).

Some of the prisoner’s worst fears may emerge just before his release: he may be afraid of rejection from family, employers, and society in general. He may be afraid of his own ability to cope. It may help him to sort out his thoughts if you consider together with him the direction that his life was following before his arrest, which in many cases was headlong towards destruction. Then together you can consider possible alternative routes for his life, and then help him to gain the confidence that he needs in order to try again. A lot of encouragement is sometimes required at this point. Perhaps it would help to give him a little warning of some of the problems he may encounter so that he can prepare himself. It is important to discuss his fears with him and to try and build his confidence.