Prison Rules 1999

Year1999

1999 No. 728

PRISONS

The Prison Rules 1999

Made 10th March 1999

Laid before Parliament 11th March 1999

Coming into force 1st April 1999

In exercise of the powers conferred upon me by section 47 of the Prison Act 19521, I hereby make the following Rules:

1 PART I

PART I

Citation and commencement
S-1 Citation and commencement

Citation and commencement

1. These Rules may be cited as the Prison Rules 1999 and shall come into force on 1st April 1999.

Interpretation
S-2 Interpretation

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Rules, where the context so admits, the expression—

“controlled drug” means any drug which is a controlled drug for the purposes of the Misuse of Drugs Act 19712;

“convicted prisoner” means, subject to the provisions of rule 7(3), a prisoner who has been convicted or found guilty of an offence or committed or attached for contempt of court or for failing to do or abstain from doing anything required to be done or left undone, and the expression “unconvicted prisoner” shall be construed accordingly;

“governor” includes an officer for the time being in charge of a prison;

“legal adviser” means, in relation to a prisoner, his counsel or solicitor, and includes a clerk acting on behalf of his solicitor;

“officer” means an officer of a prison and, for the purposes of rule 40(2), includes a prisoner custody officer who is authorised to perform escort functions in accordance with section 89 of the Criminal Justice Act 19913;

“prison minister” means, in relation to a prison, a minister appointed to that prison under section 10 of the Prison Act 1952;

“short-term prisoner” and “long-term prisoner” have the meanings assigned to them by section 33(5) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991, as extended by sections 43(1) and 45(1) of that Act.

(2) In these Rules—

(a)

(a) a reference to an award of additional days means additional days awarded under these Rules by virtue of section 42 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991;

(b)

(b) a reference to the Church of England includes a reference to the Church in Wales; and

(c)

(c) a reference to a numbered rule is, unless otherwise stated, a reference to the rule of that number in these Rules and a reference in a rule to a numbered paragraph is, unless otherwise stated, a reference to the paragraph of that number in that rule.

2 PRISONERS

PART II

PRISONERS

GENERAL

GENERAL

S-3 Purpose of prison training and treatment

Purpose of prison training and treatment

3. The purpose of the training and treatment of convicted prisoners shall be to encourage and assist them to lead a good and useful life.

S-4 Outside contacts

Outside contacts

4.—(1) Special attention shall be paid to the maintenance of such relationships between a prisoner and his family as are desirable in the best interests of both.

(2) A prisoner shall be encouraged and assisted to establish and maintain such relations with persons and agencies outside prison as may, in the opinion of the governor, best promote the interests of his family and his own social rehabilitation.

S-5 After care

After care

5. From the beginning of a prisoner’s sentence, consideration shall be given, in consultation with the appropriate after-care organisation, to the prisoner’s future and the assistance to be given him on and after his release.

S-6 Maintenance of order and discipline

Maintenance of order and discipline

6.—(1) Order and discipline shall be maintained with firmness, but with no more restriction than is required for safe custody and well ordered community life.

(2) In the control of prisoners, officers shall seek to influence them through their own example and leadership, and to enlist their willing co-operation.

(3) At all times the treatment of prisoners shall be such as to encourage their self-respect and a sense of personal responsibility, but a prisoner shall not be employed in any disciplinary capacity.

S-7 Classification of prisoners

Classification of prisoners

7.—(1) Prisoners shall be classified, in accordance with any directions of the Secretary of State, having regard to their age, temperament and record and with a view to maintaining good order and facilitating training and, in the case of convicted prisoners, of furthering the purpose of their training and treatment as provided by rule 3.

(2) Unconvicted prisoners:

(a)

(a) shall be kept out of contact with convicted prisoners as far as the governor considers it can reasonably be done, unless and to the extent that they have consented to share residential accommodation or participate in any activity with convicted prisoners; and

(b)

(b) shall under no circumstances be required to share a cell with a convicted prisoner.

(3) Prisoners committed or attached for contempt of court, or for failing to do or abstain from doing anything required to be done or left undone:

(a)

(a) shall be treated as a separate class for the purposes of this rule;

(b)

(b) notwithstanding anything in this rule, may be permitted to associate with any other class of prisoners if they are willing to do so; and

(c)

(c) shall have the same privileges as an unconvicted prisoner under rules 20(5), 23(1) and 35(1).

(4) Nothing in this rule shall require a prisoner to be deprived unduly of the society of other persons.

S-8 Privileges

Privileges

8.—(1) There shall be established at every prison systems of privileges approved by the Secretary of State and appropriate to the classes of prisoners there, which shall include arrangements under which money earned by prisoners in prison may be spent by them within the prison.

(2) Systems of privileges approved under paragraph (1) may include arrangements under which prisoners may be allowed time outside their cells and in association with one another, in excess of the minimum time which, subject to the other provisions of these Rules apart from this rule, is otherwise allowed to prisoners at the prison for this purpose.

(3) Systems of privileges approved under paragraph (1) may include arrangements under which privileges may be granted to prisoners only in so far as they have met, and for so long as they continue to meet, specified standards in their behaviour and their performance in work or other activities.

(4) Systems of privileges which include arrangements of the kind referred to in paragraph (3) shall include procedures to be followed in determining whether or not any of the privileges concerned shall be granted, or shall continue to be granted, to a prisoner; such procedures shall include a requirement that the prisoner be given reasons for any decision adverse to him together with a statement of the means by which he may appeal against it.

(5) Nothing in this rule shall be taken to confer on a prisoner any entitlement to any privilege or to affect any provision in these Rules other than this rule as a result of which any privilege may be forfeited or otherwise lost or a prisoner deprived of association with other prisoners.

S-9 Temporary release

Temporary release

9.—(1) The Secretary of State may, in accordance with the other provisions of this rule, release temporarily a prisoner to whom this rule applies.

(2) A prisoner may be released under this rule for any period or periods and subject to any conditions.

(3) A prisoner may only be released under this rule:

(a)

(a) on compassionate grounds or for the purpose of receiving medical treatment;

(b)

(b) to engage in employment or voluntary work;

(c)

(c) to receive instruction or training which cannot reasonably be provided in the prison;

(d)

(d) to enable him to participate in any proceedings before any court, tribunal or inquiry;

(e)

(e) to enable him to consult with his legal adviser in circumstances where it is not reasonably practicable for the consultation to take place in the prison;

(f)

(f) to assist any police officer in any enquiries;

(g)

(g) to facilitate the prisoner’s transfer between prisons;

(h)

(h) to assist him in maintaining family ties or in his transition from prison life to freedom; or

(i)

(i) to enable him to make a visit in the locality of the prison, as a privilege under rule 8.

(4) A prisoner shall not be released under this rule unless the Secretary of State is satisfied that there would not be an unacceptable risk of his committing offences whilst released or otherwise failing to comply with any condition upon which he is released.

(5) The Secretary of State shall not release under this rule a prisoner serving a sentence of imprisonment if, having regard to:

(a)

(a) the period or proportion of his sentence which the prisoner has served or, in a case where paragraph (10) does not apply to require all the sentences he is serving to be treated as a single term, the period or proportion of any such sentence he has served; and

(b)

(b) the frequency with which the prisoner has been granted temporary release under this rule,

the Secretary of State is of the opinion that the release of the prisoner would be likely to undermine public confidence in the administration of justice.

(6) If a prisoner has been temporarily released under this rule during the relevant period and has been sentenced to imprisonment for a criminal offence committed whilst at large following that release, he shall not be released under this rule unless his release, having regard to the circumstances of this conviction, would not, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, be likely to undermine public confidence in the administration of justice.

(7) For the purposes of paragraph (6), “the relevant period”:

(a)

(a) in the case of a prisoner serving a determinate sentence of imprisonment, is the period he has served in respect of that sentence, unless, notwithstanding paragraph (10), the sentences he is serving do not fall to be treated as a single term, in which case it is the period since he was last released in relation to one of those sentences under Part II of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 (“the 1991 Act”)4;

(b)

(b) in the case of a prisoner serving an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment, is, if the prisoner has...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT