Prisons in Scotland are operated by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) except for HMP Addiewell. You can find information on the prison system at https://www.sps.gov.uk/family-and-friends
Keeping in contact
Letters
To write to your family member you will need their prison number and the name and address of the prison. If you don’t know their prison number you can include their date of birth on the envelope.
You can find the prison address on https://www.sps.gov.uk/prisons
Include your own name and address on the envelope too, as some prisons will not accept mail or pass it on to your loved one without this.
Letters are opened by prison staff before they are given to prisoners and your family member may receive a photocopy rather than the original. This applies to photos, pictures and anything else you send in.
You can email your family member by using Emates – Email a Prisoner https://www.emailaprisoner.com/
You will need to set up an account and add credit. There is a charge of £0.42 per email sent and you can include a reply sheet for an extra £0.26 to receive a reply from your loved one with no cost to them. It is possible to attach photos and documents for £0.32.
Phone calls
All prisons now have phones in the cells so your family member will be able to call you if they have put your phone number on their approved list of phone numbers. This can take a bit of time to set up initially so your family member may not be able to phone you immediately.
Visiting your loved one
Most prisons in Scotland are located near the two main cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. Flights are reasonable to these cities if you plan far enough in advance. You can also travel by ferry from Belfast to Cairnryan.
Visits are booked by prisoners so you have to arrange your visits through your family member in prison. They can then tell you the date and time they have booked the visit for. Prisoners are entitled to at least 2 hours visits per month but some prisons may allow extra time for visitors who have travelled from another country. Each prison has its own rules about visits so your family member should be given information about how many visits they are allowed.
Sending money
The safest way to send money to your family member is by online transfer. You must have a unique reference number when making an online transfer. You can get this number here https://www.sps.gov.uk/family-and-friends/sending-money You will need their name and date of birth.
There is a limit of £50 per day.
You can send in cash/sterling cheque/sterling money order however it is slower and is at your own risk. If you are sending a cheque/money order you will need to make the cheque/order payable to the Governor of the prison and write the prisoner’s name and prison number on the back of the cheque.
If your family member is in HMP Addiewell or HMP Kilmarnock money can be sent through www.secure-payment-services.com
See https://www.sps.gov.uk/family-and-friends/sending-money for more information.
Concerned for your family member’s wellbeing
If you are concerned about your family member there is a dedicated phone line that you can contact 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. https://www.sps.gov.uk/family-and-friends/raise-concern
| Barlinnie | 0141 770 2000 | Inverness | 01463 229 000 | ||||
| Bella CCU | 01382 802 601 | Lilias CCU | 0141 236 1400 | ||||
| Castle Huntly | 01382 319 333 | Low Moss | 0141 762 9500 | ||||
| Dumfries | 01387 261218 | Perth | 01738 622 293 | ||||
| Edinburgh | 0131 444 3000 | Polmont | 01324 711 558 | ||||
| Glenochil | 01259 760471 | Shotts | 01501 824000 | ||||
| Grampian | 01779 485 600 | Stirling | 01786 832591 | ||||
| Greenock | 01475 787 801 | Kilmarnock | 01563 548800 | ||||
| Addiewell | 01506 874500 |
