Prisons launch appeal for visitors with language skills

IN the summer of 2006, after housing girls and women for 44 years, Bullwood Hall, in Hockley, became the first designated foreign nationals prison in the country.

It holds up to 184 men, who have all been convicted of criminal offences, sentenced for four years or less and are mainly nearing the end of their sentence.

A few have actually come to the end of their sentence but continue to be held under a warrant as the Immigration and Nationality Directorate have not yet concluded their investigations and determined their future.

Some of the prisoners wish to return to their country of origin and apply for early removal or facilitated removal to their home countries. Other prisoners wish to stay in the UK and apply for asylum or appeal against deportation. About half of those discharged from the prison are released into the UK as some have lived here for many years and have partners and children here.

A wide variety of nationalities is represented, with it not being uncommon to have around 60 different nationalities in the prison at any one time. The most populous at the moment are Jamaicans, Nigerians, Vietnamese and Algerians. The prisoners of Caribbean and African origin are generally committed
Christians and partake in a variety of services.

The Eastern European Orthodox Christians join the Roman Catholics for Saturday Mass. There is also a substantial minority of Muslims who meet for Friday Prayers.

The chaplaincy team at the prison provides pastoral care to people of all faiths and none and a chaplain spends quality time with each new prisoner, if necessary with a translator, within 24 hours of their arriving at the prison. The co-ordinating chaplain, Revd Annie Dixon, is active in caring for those at risk of
suicide and self-harm and is also a member of the senior management team, contributing
to the prison regime and policy.

Family and community links are important to foreign national prisoners. The volunteers from the MU and the churches provide vital support and help on domestic visits' days, from welcoming families, making cups of tea and looking after children while their parents talk. The prisoners who are most unlikely to
have visitors are those who do not have families here and do not speak English.

The chaplaincy co-ordinates an official prison visitors' scheme for those who have no or few other visitors. An official prison visitor is a volunteer who is allocated one or more prisoners and commits to visiting
regularly to show an interest in and have a friendly conversation with the prisoner(s).

HMP Bullwood Hall has a number of official prison visitors who are available to visit prisoners who speak English but is interested in recruiting visitors with foreign language skills, particularly Mandarin,
Vietnamese, Russian and Eastern European languages, Spanish and Portuguese.

There is an application process including security checks and references and some simple training and guidelines are provided.

● Anyone who is interested in becoming an official prison visitor at Bullwood Hall prison should contact Revd Annie Dixon on 01702 562928 or annie.dixon@hmps.gsi.gov.uk

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