Video visits
Video visits can be used when your family and friends aren’t able to come to the prison. Video visits can also be used the prison doesn’t have capacity for an in-person visit.
Video visits can also be used for a compassionate visit. For more information on compassionate visits, use the link on the left side of this page.
Video visits happen through a video call on a computer, using a program called Zoom. Any person you have a visit with will need access to a computer with the internet and a camera.
Video visits are supervised in the background by a prison officer.
Important:
- Friends and family wanting to have video visits must be on your Valid Visitor’s List.
- All video visits are recorded.
What happens during a video visit?
Before the visit starts, the prison officer will check that your visitor on the screen is the person on your visitor list by checking their photo identification, like a driver’s license or passport. They will do this without you being present.
Once the visitor’s ID has been checked, you will be able to join the call. The prison officer will monitor the video call in the background to make sure nobody else joins. Prisons officers should still give you privacy during video visits, like in a contact visit.
Part 3.04 of the Deputy Commissioner’s Instructions has a list of rules to follow in a video visit. They are:
- No verbal abuse, threats or nudity
- No screenshots, photos or video recordings of the call
- Only approved visitors can be in the call (other people can’t join in during the call if they haven’t been approved)
- No calls from a public place where other people can see the screen (like an internet café, or a car)
- No touching, changing or interfering with the video-call equipment at the prison
If a prison officer thinks you or a visitor have broken one of these rules, they might end the call. You and the visitor could also both be placed on a video ban (up to 6 months for visitors, and up to 12 months for a person in prison). You could be charged with a prison offence.