Prison

There are 2 reasons why someone might be in prison:

• On Remand - this can happen if the court refuses a person bail, perhaps because they are concerned the defendant won't attend court for further hearings or may commit further offences. This can be a particularly difficult time as their future is unknown.
• Sentenced - this is when someone is serving a prison sentence, having been found guilty (convicted) of an offence. The court will decide what sentence is appropriate to the offence the person has allegedly committed.

There are different categories of prison and prisoner. The person will be allocated a category according to the severity of the offence and the level of risk they may pose to the public. The categories are A, B, C and D:

• Category A prisoners are considered a high risk to the public and a category A prison will have very high security measures
• Category D is the lowest category, when prisoners are considered to be a very low risk to the public and a category D prison will have much less obvious forms of security
• Prisoners are also allocated to a prison according to their age and gender

The usual process from when someone is sentenced to prison is:

• the person is usually escorted from court to prison
• at the prison reception, they are met by prison officers who will process their arrival
• staff should make sure the prisoner has everything they need and address any issues, such as healthcare needs
• new prisoners will be strip searched to make sure they don't have anything on them that could cause harm e.g. weapons or drugs
• staff will record what items the prisoner has on them including valuables and clothing - a prisoner can take in some items with them into the prison, and other items will be placed in storage
• prisoners aren't allowed to take medication into prison with them - staff should make a note of what the prisoner has on them and refer them to the healthcare department for a new prescription as appropriate
• every prisoner is assessed by the healthcare team soon after arriving, this is a good opportunity for their mental health to be discussed
• they are allocated a prison number which should be used on all correspondence - this will be on the front of their cell door
• all prisoners are allocated a personal officer, a member of staff who a prisoner can go to for information, advice and to discuss any problems - the name will be on the front of their cell door
• most prisons have an induction wing where new prisoners will be accommodated - this gives a new prisoner the opportunity to settle in and see how the prison runs 
• there are usually lots of things a prisoner can do whilst in prison, such as education courses, training, jobs, gym, library, drug and/or alcohol programmes and offender behaviour programmes to prevent re-offending

Even though a person is imprisoned, they can still be 'diverted' out of the criminal justice system and into health and social care services, such as hospital. The healthcare team can make arrangements for a prisoner to be assessed. The prisoner's solicitor could be involved in making sure this assessment happens and as soon as possible.

There are sections of the Mental Health Act that could be used depending on whether the prisoner is on remand or sentenced:

• a remand prisoner can be transferred to hospital under section 48 of the Mental Health Act
• a sentenced prisoner can be transferred to hospital under section 47 of the Mental Health Act
• a prisoner can be transferred back to prison if it's thought their mental health can be appropriately managed in prison

Sources of help

There are a variety of staff and departments in prison who can support a prisoner. Some of these include:

• their personal officer whose name will be on the prisoner's cell door. They can give information, advice and answer any queries.
• the prison chaplain who can provide pastoral care to prisoners e.g. listen and support. They are not necessarily associated with a particular religion or tradition. They can also be a source of support to a prisoner's relatives/friends.
• healthcare department which have primary services e.g. GPs, and secondary services like in the community. If a prisoner's mental illness is severe, the prison in-reach team can help. They are similar to a Community Mental Health Team.
• resettlement department who can help prisoners prepare for their release. They may have links with services and organisations in the community, such as housing associations, healthcare services and employment support.
• probation service are based within prisons to help prisoners make the most of their time in prison, including addressing their offending behaviour. Probation are also based in the community to support prisoners when released from prison. Only prisoners who have a sentence of 12 months or more will have an allocated probation team. 
• sometimes prisons have visits from external organisations, such as Citizen's Advice Bureau, Jobcentre Plus and ex-offender organisations such as St Giles Trust that can help prisoners whilst in prison and/or on release.

These people and organisations may also be able to provide support, information and advice to friends/relatives of the prisoner.

There are also other organisations that can help - see Useful Contacts.