THE Scottish Prison Service is installing landline phones in cells across the prison estate to support family contact, mental health and wellbeing, and reduce the risk of reoffending.
They will replace prison-issued mobile phones, which were introduced as a temporary measure during the Covid pandemic, when in person visits were restricted to keep people safe.
Maintaining contact with friends and family, particularly children, is crucial not only for those in the care of the Scottish Prison Service, but also their loved ones.
It has a positive impact on people’s mental health and wellbeing, which in turn supports them to take advantage of the education and rehabilitative opportunities on offer.
Maintaining those relationships is also important to giving people the best possible chance of a successful return to their communities after they leave prison.
The hard-wired in-cell telephones will be subject to the same robust security, which has governed the use of mobile phones and those in halls.
That means people will only be able to call numbers from a pre-approved list, and the Scottish Prison Service will maintain the ability to monitor and record calls.
In future, the cabling used for in-cell telephony will support the Scottish Prison Service’s ambitions for in-cell technology.
This will further support contact, increase educational opportunities, and give people greater agency over their own lives, from booking courses they wish to attend to selecting meal choices.
It will also free up staff time from transactional tasks, allowing them more time to carry out quality work with those in our care.
Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, said: “This is an important milestone for the Scottish Prison Service, which has the potential to deliver tangible and enduring benefits for those in our care and their families, staff, the wider justice sector, and Scotland as a whole.
“It is an example of how the SPS is taking the lessons learned in the extremely challenging circumstances of the Covid pandemic to improve the service we provide.
“I would like to thank all those colleagues who have worked so hard to deliver this.”
Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs, Angela Constance, said: “The introduction of landline telephones in cells is a welcome development by the Scottish Prison Service and marks a continuation of Scottish Government investment in modernising our prison estate.
“This will help people in custody maintain contact with friends and family, including their children, which we know is crucial to their rehabilitative journey.
“It will also pave the way for in-cell education and give people in custody greater responsibility for their own lives – and will help ensure safe and stable prison environments.”