§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the prisons in England and Wales that use dye stamping on the hands of visitors when visiting prisons and their reasons for using this system. [24557]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Richard Tilt to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 16 April 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about prisons that use dye stamping on the hands of visitors visiting prisons in England and Wales.363WThe most recent date for which centrally held information is available on the use of dye stamping on the hands of visitors is August 1995. This information is given in the attached table.The system, which uses ultra violet marker dye, is designed to enable staff to differentiate between visitors and prisoners and to prevent prisoners leaving the visits room or prison either with, or in the place of, a visitor.Other establishments use alternative methods such as biometric identification, but dye marking is the cheapest and most easily operated system of visitor identification available.Prisons in England and Wales using dye-stamping on the hands of visitors1 visiting prisons in August 1995.
- Aylesbury
- Belmarsh
- Birmingham
- Brinsford
- Bullingdon
- Cardiff
- Erlestoke
- Exeter
- Featherstone
- Frankland
- Gloucester
- Guys Marsh
- Holme House
- Holloway
- Hull
- Lincoln
- Littlehey
- Liverpool
- Manchester
- The Mount
- Northallerton
- Norwich
- Nottingham
- Onley
- Pucklechurch
- Risley
- Rochester
- Shepton Mallet
- Shrewsbury
- Swansea
- Wandsworth
- Wayland
- Winchester
- Wormwood Scrubs
1Feltham and Long Lartin prisons used dye stamping on the hands of prisoners receiving visits.