Notwithstanding the ongoing issue of non-adherence to rules and possession of prohibited items, authorities at His Majesty’s Prison are pondering whether to allow family visitations over the holiday season.
This pending decision comes after a three-year hiatus when the practice was discontinued.
“What we are making a final decision on is whether or not we will have family members stay with them for any period of time,” Colonel Trevor Pennyfeather, the Prison Superintendent, told Observer, recently.
He mentioned that for family visitation to be possible, there has to be adequate staff to supervise family members and prisoners.
“…You’d have to have an agreement for additional staff, and that in itself creates a problem in the prison because of course you have limited staff, especially on a holiday,” he stated.
However, despite that pending decision, the Prison Superintendent confirmed that family members will be able to carry Christmas lunches for their incarcerated loved ones.
Previously, in-person family visitations during the Christmas season were prohibited due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This was in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.
In its stead, a virtual visitation system was set up in 2021, in an effort for family members to remain in contact with loved ones inside the prison.
The set-up consisted of two computer systems which generated a unique login password code for each meeting.
Appointments for each visit had to be made in advance, and no more than three family members were permitted to share the session which lasted 20 minutes.
