Staying in regular contact between visits makes a real difference, and there are a couple of services worth knowing about alongside the phone and post.
Prison Voicemail. This lets you leave a voice message for a prisoner without having to be by the phone when they call. You get a personal number, call it whenever suits you, and leave a message; the prisoner picks it up from the phones in the prison and can leave a reply, which triggers a notification back to you. It’s available at the majority of prisons in England and Wales. It isn’t free – plans currently run from around £5 a month for 25 minutes of messages up to £10 a month for 100 minutes, or you can pay as you go with a one-off set-up fee, and the app now also offers “live calls” for real-time conversation at cheaper rates than the standard prison phone. Sign up and check current prices at prisonvoicemail.com.
Purple Visits. Where an in-person visit isn’t possible or practical, most prisons now also offer video calling through the free Purple Visits app – typically up to 60 minutes a month at no cost. It’s downloaded onto your own phone or tablet, and calls are booked in advance in much the same way as an ordinary visit. Ask the prison whether Purple Visits is available and how to get set up.
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