GENERAL INFORMATION

Guide to Residential Halls in Polmont

Hall name	Function (Max number of prisoners)	Accommodation	Room Facilities
Monro 1	Short term prisoner up to 4 years (92)	Single Cell & Double cell	Toilet, Washing facilities, Power and T.V. in all cells.
Monro 2	Under 18 young offenders (94)	Single & Double Cell	Toilet, Washing facilities, Power and T.V. in all cells.
Monro 3	Addiction Support Unit (92)	Single & Double Cell	Toilet, Washing facilities, Power and T.V. in all cells.
Monro 4	Additional Support unit for Vulnerable Yos (91)	Single & Double Cell	Toilet, Washing facilities, Power and T.V. in all cells.
Iona 1	Untried/Remand Yos (126)	Single & Double Cell	Toilet, Washing facilities, Power and T.V. in all cells.
Iona 2	Admission Young Offenders (115)	Single & Double Cell	Toilet, Washing facilities, Power and T.V. in all cells.
Iona 3	Long Term Prisoners over 4 years (88)	Single & Double Cell	Toilet, Washing facilities, Power and T.V. in all cells.
Dunedin Unit	Punishment and Segregation Unit (14)	Single cell	Toilet, Washing facilities, Power in all cells

At present Polmont YOI can take maximum number of 712 prisoners.

General Daily Routine in Residential Areas. 

Young Offenders Daily Routine (Mon-Fri)
6.30 am	Wash & Shave
7.00 am	Time in the open air
8.00 am	Breakfast
8.15 am	To work/ programs/ P.E/ Education etc.
12 noon	Lunch
1.15 pm	To work/ programs/ P.E/ Education etc.
3.55 pm	Return to Hall
5.00 pm	Evening Meal
6.00 pm	Staff Break
7.00 pm	Recreation
8.45 pm	Return to rooms

Young Offenders Daily Routine (Weekends)
8.30 am	Wash & Shave
9.00 am	Time in the open air
9.30 am	Religious Services/ cell cleaning
10.30 am	Brunch
12.30	Staff Break
1.30 pm	Recreation/ visits/ P.E
4.45 pm	Evening Meal
5.30 pm	Return to rooms
No evening recreation at weekends

In case of an EMERGENCY telephone the Establishment and a message will be passed on.

Young offenders cannot be called directly. The telephone number is 01324 711558

You can phone the residential halls direct and speak to any member of staff who can advise you on various issues.

FAMILY CONTACT DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

Family Contact Development Officers are in place in residential areas working with prisoners on a daily basis. As part of their secondary duties they attend the visit room to offer advice and support to families.

They will provide assistance to young offenders and their families with issues relating to prison visits, maintaining positive family relationships and will encourage the family and close supportive friends to support their son / brother / partner, in addressing his identified needs.

There is a Family Contact Development Office located in the Visit Room waiting area. The Duty Officer is available Monday to Friday during Visit Hours to provide support or answer any concerns that you may have.

You can also fill in an FCDO referral form, obtainable from the visit room staff. Alternatively you can contact by phoning the FCDO office on 01324 722374 (If there is no answer please leave a message and someone will contact you as soon as possible.)

OR

You can of course write direct to the Governor in Charge.

We can answer questions on Assisted Prison Visit travel expenses (APVU), travel issues to and from Prisons, the daily routine, benefit agencies, family contact, informal chats, general enquiries and information about the person you are visiting.

FAMILY CONTACT DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

Keeping you informed

Advice & Support
01324 722374 

The Visiting Committee (VC)

Visiting Committee members are totally independent of prison staff. They are appointed as outside observers. Their job is to check on the conditions in the prison, for example food, warmth, decency, exercise and work, and to follow up any matters that you may wish to raise with them.

If a prisoner would like to speak to a VC member, he can fill in a request form, Put it in a sealed envelope in the health centre box. The process is confidential and envelopes are passed to the visiting committee unopened. Someone from the VC will be in touch with him as soon as possible to discuss the matter with him.

Prisoner Money

Prisoners may receive money, whilst in custody, in accordance with specific procedures established under The Prison Rules. Usually, money will be provided by the prisoner on admission as personal cash, by visitors to the prisoner, through mail addressed to the prisoner and from wages payments made to the prisoner for activities he carries out whilst in custody.

Each prisoner, on first admission to prison, will have a personal record created and as part of that record a cash account is set up and known as the Prisoner’s Private Cash account (PPC). Any money in the possession of the prisoner will be credited to the account at that time. The account is updated each time money is received for the prisoner or a payment is made on behalf of the prisoner to a third party, such as the purchase of canteen goods.

The amount of money that a prisoner may receive during a specified period of time is restricted. Convicted prisoners are permitted to receive up to £20 and remanded prisoners up to £50 at any one visit session. In addition, prisoners may receive money in items of mail, although the posting of cash in this way presents a greater risk for the sender, as any loss prior to the item reaching the prisoner’s accommodation area would have to be borne by the sender. Use of recorded or registered letters will help to reduce that risk. Further, money may be paid into any SPS prison for any prisoner held in custody by SPS.

Each prisoner who carries out activities such as education, training and work will be paid a prison wage for each week that he is engaged in such activity. The wage is credited into the prisoner’s account and is paid one week in arrears. The amount of wage paid is set out within the SPS policy covering this area.

Prisoners are allowed to use the money held in their cash accounts to purchase goods through the prison canteen, put credit into their PIN phone accounts, pay for viewing of an in-cell television, hand out money to visitors (e.g. family) and, given appropriate approval, make one off payments for exceptional requests. In all cases the prisoner will be required to authorise the payment.

The amount of money a prisoner may spend within a predetermined period is also specified. Convicted prisoners are restricted each week to spending the total amount of the weekly wage and a weekly PPC Allowance. The latter is determined by the prisoner’s category under the Incentives & Earned Privileges Scheme operated at Polmont. In addition to that total, a convicted prisoner may request to purchase an item from a limited list of goods not stocked in the canteen, such as flowers and boxed chocolates, for special occasions. Remanded prisoners may spend up to the amount of money held as PPC.

Prisoners wishing to issue money to other parties may do so through a request system. Such payments will be by cash transaction except to some recognised organisations and companies, for instance government agencies and legal agents, which may receive cheque payments.

Each prisoner’s PPC account is balanced weekly. The account is closed when the prisoner is released from SPS custody and the balance of money held will be paid out to the prisoner at the time of his release.

TV In Cell

TV in cell is available to all young offenders at a cost of £1 per week from P.P.C subject to agreed terms of use. Remand prisoners do not pay the £1 fee.

Prisoner Canteen Brief

Introduction: The Prisoner Canteen operates on a bag & tag system. Prisoners may order items from a selection of goods held by the canteen. Acceptable orders are made up and the goods placed inside transparent, plastic bags that are heat-sealed. Orders are then delivered to the prisoners within the accommodation areas. A contract service provider (Aramark) handles the supply of all canteen goods.

Canteen Schedule:

Convicted Young Prisoners - Canteen is available to convicted young prisoners once per week. Canteen order sheets are issued to each accommodation area on Wednesday. Submitted orders are passed the following morning to the canteen operator. Each order is picked, checked then bagged and sealed. The order price receipt is enclosed with the goods. Bags are placed within delivery crates and these are sealed. The crates are transported from the canteen store to the accommodation area using an establishment delivery vehicle.

Remand Young Prisoners – Canteen is available three times per week. Canteen order sheets are issued late afternoon each Friday, Tuesday and Thursday (or first thing next office workday morning). Order forms must be returned by midday on Monday, Wednesday or Friday to the canteen operator who processes in the same way as for convicted young prisoner orders.

Canteen Goods: A wide range of goods is available for purchase from the canteen. These cover tobacco products, confectionery, groceries, toiletries and some miscellaneous goods, such as batteries and postage stamps. Under 18s are not allowed to purchase tobacco or to be supplied with tobacco from anyone else, which is in line with the current law.

Canteen Prices: Goods are priced on the Recommended Retail Price.

Sundry Item Purchases: A small selection of products not available from the regular canteen list and that are deemed to be appropriate for special occasions or needs may be purchased through the Sundry Purchase Scheme. Orders for sundry purchases may be submitted to the administration office by a Tuesday morning. These are processed for financial clearance and passed to the canteen operator. Normally, the goods are bought that day and then packed as necessary for delivery along with the next regular canteen delivery.

PIN Phone Credits: Each young prisoner may request a monetary credit to be made to his PIN phone account by entering the amount on the canteen order sheet. This credit will be entered on to the PIN phone system once the bag & tag process has been completed. The young prisoner’s PPC and wages balance will be confirmed prior to the transaction to ensure sufficient funds are available. Usually, PIN phone credits will be input within 24 hours (or next office workday) from receipt of the completed canteen order sheet by the administration staff. Sheets are passed to the administration on the same day as orders are supplied.

Prisoner PIN Phone System

Prisoners may make telephone calls to family, friends and other persons by using the Prisoner PIN Phone System. Each accommodation area in Polmont has installed a number of phone units, which may be used by prisoners to make outgoing calls. The phone is activated using the prisoner’s reference number and a personal identification number (PIN) assigned to him on admission to Polmont. Access to the PIN phones may be made during prisoner unlock periods and at the discretion of prison staff.

On admission to Polmont, a PIN phone account is set up for each prisoner. New prisoners and most readmissions are given a 30 pence credit on the account so allowing the prisoner to make an initial, short call to family or friends. Convicted prisoners serving sentences of 3 months or more will also be given the opportunity to take an advance credit of £2.50 against future prisoner wages and put to the PIN phone account. Thereafter, prisoners are given the opportunity to put further amounts into the PIN phone account through the prisoner canteen arrangements. Amounts must be in units of 50 pence and the minimum accepted is £1.00.

Each time the prisoner makes a call the PIN phone system logs the call and will deduct money from the prisoner’s account at the appropriate call rate. The amount of money in the prisoner’s account is displayed on the LCD screen on the phone unit. This amount will reduce as the call proceeds. If the balance of money falls to zero during the call, the system will disconnect the call. At the end of the call the total charge will be recorded against the prisoner’s PIN phone account. The system maintains a record of all calls made as well as unsuccessful attempts to make a call. All calls are recorded.

The PIN phone system allows calls to be made to any permissible telephone number. There are several numbers identified and restricted for use because of legal, operational and security implications. Each prisoner is required to provide a list of the telephone numbers he may like to use whilst in custody, known as his Pre-Approved Number (PAN) list. These will contain numbers for family, friends, etc and should also include the prisoner’s legal agents. A total of 20 numbers is allowed and up to 5 may be changed within any one month. The system allows a period of 14 days from an account being created or reactivated before it restricts the prisoner to his PAN list. After that date only PAN listed numbers or approved “open” numbers (e.g. Samaritans Helpline, Smoker Helpline) may be called.

On release from prison or transfer to another prison, the prisoner PIN phone account is closed.

Security

HM Y.O.I Polmont is committed to providing a safe environment for those in its care, and as part of that commitment works closely with Central Scotland Police to prevent the introduction of controlled drugs and other illicit articles from entering the establishment.

During visiting times Police Officers will be working alongside the Scottish Prison Service Tactical Dog Unit within the visits entrance on a regular basis and anyone caught in possession of any controlled drug or illicit article will be arrested and subject to criminal prosecution. In line with Prison Rules 2006 you may be subject to an outer body and baggage search under the conditions outlined in rule 102.

Once you have booked in for a visit and enter the sterile area you are not permitted to take bags, food, or pushchairs into this area. CCTV covers the visits area. Smoking is not permitted within any part of the prison.

In order to maintain a safe environment, visitors are asked to behave in an appropriate manner; visitors that behave in an unacceptable manner can expect to be removed from the establishment and in some cases banned from visiting in the future. Likewise young offenders/remands that behave in an inappropriate manner or are caught receiving controlled drugs or illicit articles will spend a period on closed visits. 

A closed Visit means there will be a screen between you and the young offender. You will not be allowed to touch you will not be allowed access to the refreshments from the shops of the machines.