What do people on remand in prison do?

[girlfriend44]

Just wondered as its says they don't have to work, what else would there be to do then?
Also says they can wear their own clothes?
How would that work then?

How do you define local? There aren’t women’s remand prisons all over the country unfortunately.

depends how you define "local". A prison might be classed as "local" - does not mean that it is.

And "local" to what? The court where you are going to be tried? Which might not be local to you at all

They do what convicted prisoners do. Only with less restrictions and rules.

Remand prisoners typically can’t do the higher paid jobs as they won’t get “vetting” to work on maintenance, gardening etc. also, sentences over 6 months are entitled to opportunities like open university etc. because remand is open ended, you could be there for a year or more but not get these opportunities.

They're normally kept on a separate wing and yes can wear their own clothes but no other privileges. It's often worse for them as they don't work so can't get extra money/canteen/gym time etc. in my experience of working in a prison they just wait for their court date, they're always innocent too and not afraid to tell you 🙄

I know someone who was on remand for 18 months. He was completely innocent. Back story - he and his wife had recently moved to a small town and on his road happened to live people from his original country. They had invited him round for a drink at exactly the time the police raided in connection with an OCG. They couldn't be persuaded that he had only just met them, didn't even know their names and had no involvement.

18 months later he was released without charge.

He spent his time doing A levels and helping teach basic literacy to other prisoners.

The legal maximum for remand was extended from 6 months to 8 month due to covid. It does sometimes go over, but rarely

My experience was there were a not insignificant number of prisoners there for over 6/8 months. Same because they were in multi handed cases with defendants all over the country, some were fighting extradition, some were just quite frankly dangerous and should probably have been in a treatment or rehabilitation environment but were awaiting trial.

Really? I'm sure the man I knew was in for much longer than that. To be fair it was around 30 years ago, but I don't think I've mis remembered

@girlfriend44

Exactly thanks what an idiotic answer I got, why do some people bother to answer.🙄

You've not seen @TwoLeftSocksWithHoles before then? I generally find their comments quite funny- a bit of light relief .

That's shocking @thecatneuterer

There's many awaiting trial past the 6 month mark....but those pesky barristers striking left delays, not to mention covid

This is a really interesting thread. Thanks for all the contributions from people who have first hand knowledge.

I often think if we were serious about cutting crime we would treat prisoners better so they come out better equipped for the world outside.

The number of people held on remand who are found not guilty is very shocking to me. What a devastating thing to happen to you.

For some of the women I met, their means of earning a living (sewing machine, iron, cooking equipment) was stolen from their homes during their remand. They had to rely on the goodwill of friends or neighbours to secure their houses. For others, they lost their tenancies and credit ratings whilst on remand.

Your “offender manager” will help you pause debt payments, but not help you keep up with bills. The phones don’t have a facility where you can call a bank and press 1 for X or 2 for Y. Fortunately, I added my banks number to my phone list and just left it ringing until a person answered, this allowed me to keep up with bills but that was luck rather than design. It’s a devastating thing to happen and my circumstances make me absolutely rage at the injustice.

This is not true
We have remand out of areas every single day on remand
It is more likely they will return to a local jail after sentencing
Operation Safeguard has increased the amount of out of area we have
It's a huge issue to learn about the gang power struggles of the south and north west and keep all safe

If on remand you get more visits, think 2 a week, once sentenced it 2 a month. Your allowed more money to be sent in, but once sentenced it drops to £20 a week, for a few months. You can save up and buy a duvet or xbox. You have a list of clothes you can take in like 6 pairs of joggers, your often not allowed hoodies, no football shirts. They have tvs in their cells and get a allowance for going to church. Some prisons have learning centers where you can go. Most have pin pong tables and other games.

Remand prisoners are supposed to be kept in prison close to where they live.

Also alot of cells have phones in them now. And you can use them between 8 and 10 I think

This depends, we could use phones 24/7 in our cells. As long as you had the funds. No incoming obvs.

There are no womens prisons in Wales and before 2017 no mens prisons in north Wales so close is relative unfortunately

The 'local' male prison to me is 45 minutes drive away. Same for female.

Both hopeless if your relative doesn't drive or doesn't live near you. Those would be 3hrs away from our families.

Local isn't really local for a lot of people.

Practically every prison now has in cell phones. However you can only call people on your limited approved list. And you need the funds.

Well it's not a perfect system but what is these days?

Well if you’re on remand, you’re definitely not allowed to work the steam press, I know that much.

Some prisoners also become 'listeners' trained by the Samaritans

The closest women's prison to me is in Bristol, a 2 hour drive away on a good day. And you could live further from Bristol than I do and it still be your closest women's prison as it's the only one in the south west.

People around here definitely wouldn't view Bristol as "local".