We live hours away from the prison and I had hung out for this visit. Being so far away we don’t get to visit often. After waiting in the queue at the reception desk I approached the counter, smiled and said my name and who I had come to see. The woman looked at the computer then back at me and said calmly, ‘You don’t have a visit booked in.’
I felt the stares of everyone in the room piercing my back. I knew they were uncomfortable. I could feel the tension in the room growing as I stood there.
I know I had a visit booked! I had spent ages on the phone trying to organise a special visit (meaning a double visit) due to living so far away. Three days ago the manager had phoned me back and said it was all organised. And now, my visit was no longer in the system! Frustration was putting it mildly after driving for hours that morning, and now knowing I wouldn’t be seeing my son again for a long time.
The woman at the desk tried to be helpful. She apologised and told that unfortunately nothing could be done. No visit was going to happen that day. I could make another appointment though.
Only someone who has had deal with the prison system knows the helplessness that you feel when things like this happen. it would have been easy to just accept the fact and walk away. Who has spare energy when faced with a system like Corrections.
But not having a visit would affect more than just me. It would also affect the person I was going to visit. You may call it stubborn, but I felt I had the right to ask for this to be fixed. I gave myself permission to remain there, with everyone watching on, and kindly asked to speak to the manager.,
Dealing with the Corrections system is difficult at the best of times. However you have a right to see wrongs that happen in the system addressed. When something doesn’t go as it should, I encourage you not to walk out that door and just say that is the prison system, nothing can work. Instead stand up! Know you have a right to good service. Use your voice for the sake of yourself and the person inside. Ask to speak to a superior!
After being firm about wanting to speak to a manager, one came. The man tried nicely to explain the challenges they had with letting me visit at this time. I told the person calmly and politely that I understood their challenges, however it was not my problem that one of his staff made a mistake in the visits system. The manager was generous enough to listen, and I offered a practical solution – the outcome, a visit was granted in a family interview room.
It may be a visit that wasn’t put in the system when you had booked it, or a document you sent in now gone missing.. Just because you have someone inside doesn’t mean you have no rights. You do have rights and you have permission to ask for resolution of issues, either at the time, or through avenues such as the Department of Corrections, or the Ombudsman where all else fails.
You may not always get what you should, but remember, mistakes will continue to be made, and there will be little change for the better unless we all support each other to stand strong and use our voice when we need to!