PSI 2011-049 - Inside Time

UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 19An Electoral Registration Officer (for submitting a postal vote only)14.2 Prison Rules 38 and 39 (1) and Young Offender Institution Rules 16 and 17 (1) provide forcorrespondence between prisoners and their legal advisers (defined as solicitor, counsel, ora clerk acting on behalf of either) or the Courts to be treated as privileged. This includeslegally privileged material handed over on visits. For outgoing correspondence, letters maybe addressed just to a firm of solicitors or organisation like the Prisoners‟ Advice Servicewhere prisoners are unsure of the legal adviser‟s name. The following points must befollowed by all staff to prevent incorrect interference with incoming legally privilegedcorrespondence:(a)(b)Legally privileged correspondence must not be stopped, opened and/or read, except inspecific circumstances outlined in the Prison Rules;Legally privileged correspondence must only be opened if the Governor has reasonablecause to believe that;(i)(ii)it contains an illicit enclosure;the letter is not from a recognised legal adviser or other body covered byRule 39. This decision must be made on a case by case basis by thegovernor and recorded on the prisoner correspondence log;(c)If the letter is opened due to a reasonable suspicion that it is not from a legal adviser orcourt, the following procedures apply:(i) If on initial examination, the letter is from a legal adviser or another Rule 39body, the letter must not be read but must be placed back in the envelopeand passed to the prisoner. A Security Information Report (SIR) should besubmitted and a letter sent to the legal adviser concerned noting what hadhappened;(ii)If, on initial examination, the letter is not from a legal adviser or other Rule39 body, the letter may be read. A SIR must be submitted and considerationgiven to further communications monitoring;(d)(e)(f)(g)Legally privileged correspondence must only be stopped, opened and/or read if thegovernor has reasonable cause to believe its contents endanger prison security or thesafety of others or are otherwise of a criminal nature;Any legally privileged correspondence opened on the basis of 14.2 (b) and 14.2(d) abovemust only be opened in the presence of the prisoner concerned (unless he or she declinesthe opportunity) and the prisoner must be informed if such correspondence is to be read orstopped;In exceptional cases, Prison Rule 35A (2A) allows for an application to be made to theChief Executive Officer of the National Offender Management Service; the Directorresponsible for National Operational Services or the duty Director of NOMS for plannedinterception of communications between a prisoner and his/her legal adviser.Communications in this context includes mail and telephone calls. The only grounds forauthorising ongoing interception would be a reasonable belief that the communication wasbeing made with the intention of furthering a criminal purpose. Any such application mustfirst be discussed with a Manager in the National Intelligence Unit on 0300 047 6354;A comprehensive guide on how to handle both Rule 39 and Confidential Accesscorrespondence is at Annex D. PSI 49/2010 (insert link) provides guidance aboutsearching legal correspondence during a cell search.PSI 49/2011 UNCLASSIFIED ISSUE DATE 26/09/2011