Prison Transfer – April 2013

Prisoners may be transferred from one prison to another for a number of reasons. It can be very difficult to get a transfer, as 78 out of 130 prisons are overcrowded at the moment. There is no automatic right to be in a prison that you choose. The law says that someone can be held in any suitable prison. However, the prison service should consider circumstances so that people are encouraged to maintain family ties, where possible.

In 2009-2010 the average cost of transferring a prisoner was £98.16. Around 1,500 people are transferred every week. Sometimes, people are moved because of an overcrowding draft. Prison service headquarters will tell a prison to move a number of people because the prison is getting too full. The Prison and Probation Ombudsman has highlighted the damaging impact of prisoners being transferred on overcrowding drafts. Sometimes people are moved from a prison they know to a busy prison where they feel less safe.

The most common reasons for transfer are because someone’s security category has changed or for sentence progression. Prison service policy says that people must be held in the lowest possible security category. People might have a transfer so that they can do a course in another prison that might help them to reduce their risk of reoffending. Sometimes prisoners move so that they can serve the final weeks of their sentence in a prison nearer their home. This is called ‘local discharge’. Ideally, this gives someone the opportunity to make links for resettlement, coordinate their release with their family and external offender manager before release.

The prison service also has a duty of care if you are experiencing serious difficulties with other prisoners. People may be moved if prison staff are concerned about their safety or believe they are at risk from other prisoners. Usually prison staff will ask for evidence and details of the threats against the prisoner before arranging a transfer.

Prison staff are also supposed to consider medical and disability needs when they allocate someone. This applies to both the person in prison and their family. So, if your visitor finds travelling difficult the prison should take this into consideration. It is useful to provide medical evidence if you can.

Sometimes prisoners move so that they can serve the final weeks of their sentence in a prison nearer their home ‘local discharge’. Ideally, this gives someone the opportunity to make links for resettlement, coordinate their release with their family and external offender manager before release.

There is no national policy that says that prisoners must stay in a prison for a certain amount of time before being transferred. OCA units often have their own policy and will say that a transfer can only be considered after the prisoner has served a few months at the prison they wish to leave. In reality, the application process and arranging the transport can take a long time. There are often waiting lists for spaces in prisons as well. However, if you do want a transfer it is worth putting in an application and seeing what happens.

from insidetime issue April 2013