Support for the implementation of video visits and mobile phones in prisons

Video visits and mobile phones were available starting the end of the month of June 2020 to people held in every prison in Scotland for the first time. Uptake has not been high, however, and Families Outside is currently undertaking research on behalf of the Scottish Prison Service to understand the barriers to uptake of video visits. An estimated 5,500 prisoners directly benefitted from the implementation of the service, and between 10,000 and 13,500 children could therefore maintain contact with their parents. These numbers are based on the two-thirds of people in Scottish prisons on a given day who report being parents of children under the age of 18, and the estimate of the number of children who experience a parent’s imprisonment in Scotland over the course of six months (video visits started at the end of June 2020).