Vegan Prisoners Support Group:

Basic Guide for Vegan Prisoners

Revised March 2004

Attending Court

Going Prepared for Custodial Sentence or Possible Period of Remand

At this stage the VPSG should have been contacted so they can ensure that a Case Worker is available in the office to contact the prison in the eventuality of a custodial sentence or period of remand being given, in order to give the appropriate prison advice on the requirements of vegans regarding vegan food/toiletries.

At each court attendance you should go prepared to receive a custodial sentence as court procedures involving different cases are constantly changing. For example, you may be told that a case will be heard over a five day period, only for it to conclude on day 1. For this reason you should take with you each day items that will be of use to you in prison; provided of course you are on bail. The following is a list of some essential and non essential items.

Essential Items

• Money

  You will be allowed to spend £10 a week minimum of private cash on items such as phone cards, toiletries, food, stamps, tobacco, etc.

• Writing material

  Paper, envelopes, clear see through biro and stamps.

• Clothing and footwear

  many prisons now only allow you to keep the footwear you arrive with. Additional footwear may need to be purchased by saving the £10 a week private money allocation, together with any wages [about £7 per week] until you can buy footwear and clothing by mail order. For this reason you should consider taking any clothing and shoes you will need for your use, for example in the gym as well as steel capped boots for work in addition to a pair for general use. Clothing should include all items required as normally you are only allowed one wash of clothes every two weeks.

• Reading material

  you will probably have plenty of spare time the first week or two so consider taking a few books to read. You will be introduced to library facilities during your induction period, however you will need something to occupy yourself with in the meantime.

• IMPORTANT NOTE:

  If you have animals please ensure that you have made satisfactory arrangements for their care prior to a possible custodial sentence. Regrettably the VPSG is unable to facilitate this responsibility.

Non Essential Items

• Radio

  The prison you may arrive at may not have mains power in the cell, so a smaller radio cassette may be the best choice since you will have to purchase batteries from the canteen.

• Tobacco

  If you do smoke you should take a supply with you together with papers, filters and a lighter.

• Toiletries

  Very few prisons allow toiletries to be taken in on reception; if they do they would need to be new and sealed. However, in 2004 VPSG's recommendation that all prison issue toiletries should be suitable for vegans and not tested on animals was accepted. If the prison you arrive at does not have them you should make an application to the Governor and inform him that they are available for their purchase through the Greenham Contract:

  • Hair & Body Wash 100ml and 250ml code 513032
  • Shave Gel code 513033
  • Sejems Freshmint Toothpaste code 513023
  • Low Lather Detergent code 513049

  Other vegan friendly items may also be stocked:

  • The Collection - Hotel Complimentaries - Liquid Soap
  • Pampered Blue Ice Roll on -Chillwoods Deodorant
  • Freshmint Toothpast - Jordans Personal Care

  Note: No bar soap is suitable for vegans.

  If the prisoner so wishes, they can request an order from Honesty through their canteen and pay for them. If difficulties are experienced VPSG can try to assist in order to enforce the principle that strict ethical vegan prisoners should be offered the equal opportunity to order suitable ethical toiletries for their use.

  However, initially this is processed by completing a Governors Application.

Food in court

Sometimes - when arrested - you may be held overnight at the police station and taken to Court the next day. Alternatively you may be in prison and taken to the Court for a hearing. You will be held in a cell at the Court and the question of food may arise.

Our information is that Group 4 [one of the companies used for the transportation of prisoners] do not have any vegan pre-packaged food available. You are entitled to be fed and can insist that they provide you with suitable food. Your solicitor and the VPSG may be able to help you with this if contacted.

Two other companies used for transportation are Reliance, Premier and Securicor. The same will apply to them as they are also responsible for your welfare whilst you are in their care.

ARRIVING AT THE PRISON

Reception

Once you have arrived at the prison you will be processed at reception. This will inevitably involve a period of waiting around until you are seen.

You will first be strip searched which will involve all items of clothing being removed and each item searched. At no time should all clothing be removed at once [i.e. the lower half of your clothing should be intact while they are searching the top half and vice versa].

All your property will be itemised. The items you are allowed will be handed back for you to take with you into prison, while other items will be stored for you. You will be allowed to hand out stored or in possession items on visits, providing you make an application beforehand.

You will usually be given a pack containing basic toiletries, hairbrush, flannel etc. This often contains the vegan prison-issue toiletries mentioned above, memorise them to ensure you have vegan toiletries right from the start!

Your photograph will be taken and you will then be issued with a prison number. This number will remain with you throughout your sentence whether you are on remand or convicted.

You will be asked whether you have any medical problems or are on any medication - this is the best opportunity to clearly state that you are a vegan.

The VPSG's role if you are detained within prison

If you are sentenced, or remanded the VPSG will contact the prison informing them of your arrival and advising them of your requirements.

The kitchens will then be contacted and we will ascertain whether they have a copy of the free Catering Information pack we despatched to all prisons in 2003 and whether they have our prison news sheets. If they require replacements these are despatched immediately.

Copies of all correspondence done on your behalf will be forwarded to you.

Prison life

Prison Kitchen

Comprehensive recommendations regarding the storage and handling of vegan food have been agreed by VPS and HMPS Catering Department - Corby. Have had them installed in PSO500. This information is included in the above mentioned Catering Information Pack. Copy of PSO5000 available from VPSG free on request.

However, we are including some guidelines below for your guidance:

• Vegan food should not be cross contaminated with any form of animal protein at any stage of the storage/handling or serving.
• Uncontaminated oil should be used to cook the vegan choice which includes items such as roast potatoes, and chips.
• It is important that a fortified brand soya milk is provided to ensure adequate supplies of calcium are received i.e. the average adult requires 700mg/day. Calcium is important in the assimilation of B12 which is normally provided in the form of a yeast extract. However, Calcium requires a Magnesium source in order for the body to synthesis this mineral. See Information Sheet for sources of Magnesium.

Canteen

Canteen sheets are issued on a weekly basis in order for prisoners to order food items/toiletries. The amount you are allowed to spend will vary from prison to prison as will the items that will be allowed.

It is useful if prisoners complete a Governors Application to enquire the availability of vegan items through the canteen.

If difficulty is experienced VPSG can assist prisoners in trying to obtain certain vegan nutritional food items/toiletries through their canteen.

Prisoners' shops/canteens should make every effort to stock food, toiletries and other items for which there is a demand from ethnic minority prisoners. These might include oils and creams for toiletry purposes, a variety of fruit produce and items such as non-Christian greeting cards. Where prisoners request items which are not stocked, prison shops can order them through a supplier. Vegan products, especially food items and toiletries, should also be available either as a stock item or by arranging for goods to be ordered for prisoners.

In general, all items for prisoners should be purchased through the prison shop. An exception to this is made when shopping for ethnic minority goods where these would not otherwise be available [see IG 72/1994].

Advice on minority diets and wholesale outlets for the purchase of ethnic minority goods may be obtained from Supply and Transport Services, who should also be able to offer advice on the supply of vegan products.

Heathcare

You will then be taken to Healthcare and seen by a doctor. At this point make sure that it has been put on your files that you are vegan. Also remember to inform them if you need to arrange any herbal remedies. [If you are having problems in this area the VPSG may be able to help]

Clothing

• Remand Prisoners

  Are allowed to keep their own clothes.

• Convicted

  Sometimes you will be allowed to keep your own clothes. Other times your own clothes will be taken from you at reception and put into your own property box. Often you will be allowed to take one pair of your own shoes.

  You will then be provided with prison clothes. You can however, apply via application to be given your own clothes back, but certain items may be refused for security reasons. A limited number of each item of clothing will be permitted [this varies from prison to prison].

  You can have clothes and footwear brought in though you will normally have to put in an application before the visit they are brought in on.

  Future Purchase of Clothes: New clothes/footwear can be purchased through the current catalogue used at the prison [this varies from prison to prison]. If however, the catalogue used does not contain suitable vegan items if you can source another catalogue the prison should allow you to purchase from this alternative source.

Vitamins/Basic Nutrition

Shortly after your arrival you will receive from VPSG some Diet Sheet Records. This information will help asses the nutritional value of the prison food you are being provided. It is helpful to us if prisoners complete these and return them for the full 3 / 4 week menu cycle. The Diet Sheet Records may be copied by us and used in order to ensure a nutritional diet is provided. Therefore, the Grumble sheets provided should be used to contain any specific comments/problems of a more personal nature that need to be outlined in detail.

If individual prisoners feel they require extra vitamin requirements these should be requested through Healthcare. If this avenue is not feasible these should be ordered through the Canteen for your purchase. [See note in Prison Service Guidelines].

Basic Nutritional Information Relating to the Vegan Diet: See Attachment 2.

Visits

• Remand

  Visits can be booked over the phone without a visiting order, and you will usually be allowed more visits than if convicted - around 3-6 a week.

• Convicted Prisoners

  When convicted, the prisoner is usually allowed a Reception Visit in the first couple of days after they arrive at the prison (this will depend on the individual prison). For this visit a Visiting Order (V.O.) is not required, the visitor can just book the visit over the phone.

  After this your visitors will be required to be in possession of a V.O., which they use to book a visit.

  Normally you should be issued with a batch of V.O.'s within a couple of days of arriving at prison. They are normally issued on a monthly basis; you may well be restricted to one hour visits as a standard prisoner. This will increase with enhanced status which is normally a two hour visit. You will get around 2-4 visits a month as a convicted prisoner.

  Normally there is a restriction to three adult visitors per V.O.

There are three status levels that you can be at as a prisoner:

• Standard Prisoner: Your status on arriving at prison.
• Enhanced Prisoner: This is attained by attending work or education and by general good behaviour.
• Basic Prisoner. This is attained as a result of bad behaviour and will result in a loss of privileges.

The higher your status the more privileges you get, for example more visits.

Note: Any behaviour in breach of prison rules will mean the reversal to standard status.

For your information all behaviour in breach of prison rules is documented in your personal file during the whole sentence.

Courses

Once you have seen Sentence Planning you may be required to undertake certain courses if you are on a parole sentence and these can often help towards an early release, or if on a non parole sentence they can help with the availability of tagging. If you wish to progress through the prison system in a constructive manner and take this course it is suggested that you should consider applying about courses as soon as possible.

Education

Prison education could present you with a chance to enhance your academic abilities. It is also important as a way to keep your mind active.

There may also be the opportunity to learn computer skills which can be an advantage on your release and also A Level Courses according to the length of your sentence.

Access to Open University Courses are also a possibility with the added bonus of payment being available from one or more of the Prison Education Trust. If a second OU is undertaken the Home Office will pay.

Dealing with problems

Personal Officer

Your Personal Officer should be your first port of call if problems arise. They are in effect the first step in any process of complaint or request you may wish to make. Your Personal Officer will also be the one to monitor your progress through your sentence and complete paperwork concerning such things as Home Detention Curfew [HDC] or Parole.

Request/Complaints Forms

These forms are to be completed when other channels of complaint have failed. These [if not readily available] should be issued to you within 7 days of applying and a reply should be received within 28 days of completion.

Once your reply is received if you are not happy with the response the next step is to apply to see the Governor. Normally at this stage it will be settled amicably. If not the next step is the Ombudsman this, however, must be done within one month of receiving your final response. You can also request the Prison Ombudsman investigate your complaint if the Prison Service does not reply to you within the 6 week maximum deadline.

Note: You can also make an application during the above process to see the Board of Visitors who may be able to assist.

Ombudsman

The Prison Ombudsman is an independent official responsible for considering complaints from prisoners about almost any aspect of their treatment in prison.

The Ombudsman cannot consider complaints made about outside bodies such as the police or the courts.

You must contact The Ombudsman yourself - he/she cannot consider complaints made by prisoners, families or friends.

[For further information see Prisoners Information Book]

USING THE VPSG

Guidelines

Although vegan prisoners are free to contact the VPSG they should be aware that time taken up with minor matters means that the VPSG runs less efficiently. It is suggested that each prisoner should use the establishments' channels of complaint before calling on outside help.

Initially your personal officer should be given the opportunity to sort out any vegan related problems you may be experiencing. It is recommended that you keep an accurate note of any applications, discussions and commitments in a diary so that if VPSG need to become involved so that they have the history of the situation.

It is recommended that you consider trying to build a working relationship with your Personal Officer, the S.O [Senior Officer], P.O [Principle Officer] and Governors to try to ensure that results are achieved as quickly as possible.

If you have a genuine problem you are unable to sort out through the normal channels within prison then contact:

Vegan Prisoners Support Group
P.O.Box 194
Enfield, Middx EN1 4YL
Tel 0208 363 5729

Also supplying them with the above mentioned diary of events.

The Vegan Society

Membership of the undermentioned society is no longer necessary in order to obtain a vegan diet so membership is optional.

The Vegan Society,
Donald Watson House
21, Hylton Street
Hockley
Birmingham
B18 6HJ Tel: 0121 523 1730

Handy Addresses

• Ethical Wares, Caegwyn, Temple Bar, Felinfach, Ceredigion, Wales SA8 7SA Tel: 01570 471155
• Honesty Cosmetics, Lumford Mill, Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 1GS Tel: 01629 814888
• Vegetarian Shoes, 12 Gardner Street, Brighton BN1 1UP Tel: 01273 691913
• Vegan Store, 15, Chichester Drive, East Saltdean, Brighton BN2 8LD Tel: 01273 302979

Updated March 2005

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