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VISITOR
CONFIDENTIALITY
Before leaving this section on
Friendship it is important to realise how essential
it is to respect the confidentiality of what has been
discussed in your visit. The prisoner really needs to
know that he can trust you completely, tell you anything
without it being passed on to other prisoners, the staff
or to anyone outside the Prisoners’ Friends’ Association.
You are not required to divulge the contents of your
conversation to anyone. Not even to the Superintendent
of the Institution. (However there may well be subjects
that it would be helpful to discuss with the Superintendent
and if so it is advisable to get the prisoners’ permission
first. This will be dealt with under the section “Relationship
with the CSD.’)
“Our strength has always been
in being non-aligned to authority both inside and
outside the prison. We are trusted by prisoners
knowing that our conversations are confidential
and that the opinions that we may have of those
whom we visit are not divulged” (NAPV)
Who can you confide in??
You yourself may also need someone
to talk to. Some of the things encountered in prison
work are hard to bear alone. After all, you are human
too! We would therefore encourage you to keep in close
contact with members of the executive committee. They
are all experienced prison visitors and often two heads
are better than one. You may need help, suggestions
or an objective view on how best to proceed with a prisoner’s
particular problem. We would urge you to keep in close
touch, to share and discuss within the organisation
as much as you like but not outside the organisation
at all.
Finally – please do not let your
prisoner friend down!
Small things mean so much in prison.
Time is often counted off in hours. A person may count
the days until your next visit and look forward to it
with great anticipation. The disappointment if you do
not come can be devastating. Please do not let them
down. If you promise anything, anything at all please
be sure to keep your promise. They need to know that
they can rely on you. It is therefore better not to
promise anything unless you are 100% sure that you can
in fact carry out your promise. The promise given to
cheer a person up one day is worse than useless if broken
the next. It is better to give no promise at all. But
do try and be regular and trustworthy in your visits
and letter-writing and in carrying out whatever
you have agreed to do for the prisoner.
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