At HMP Lowdham Grange we believe in the importance of maintaining a healthy relationship with family and friends. We place a great deal of importance in making your visit experience as good as it possibly can be.

Visiting times

All social visits can only be booked by the prisoners themselves via internal processes.

Monday - In the morning from 0900 to 1000hrs and then 1030 to 1130hrs. In the afternoon, from 1430 to 1530hrs and 1600 to 1700hrs.

Tuesday - In the morning from 0900 to 1000hrs and then 1030 to 1130hrs. In the afternoon, from 1430 to 1530hrs and 1600 to 1700hrs.

Wednesday - In the morning from 0900 to 1000hrs and then 1030 to 1130hrs. In the afternoon, from 1430 to 1530hrs and 1600 to 1700hrs.

Thursday - In the morning from 0900 to 1000hrs and then 1030 to 1130hrs. In the afternoon, from 1430 to 1530hrs and 1600 to 1700hrs.

Friday - In the morning from 0900 to 1000hrs and then 1030 to 1130hrs. In the afternoon, from 1430 to 1530hrs and 1600 to 1700hrs.

Saturday - In the morning from 0900 to 1000hrs and 1030 to 1130hrs. In the afternoon from 1430 to 1530hrs and then 1600 to 1700hrs.

Sunday - In the morning from 0900 to 1000hrs and 1030 to 1130hrs. In the afternoon from 1430 to 1530hrs and then 1600 to 1700hrs.

Can money be taken in for a prisoner?

Visitors cannot give money to a prisoner during visits, but they can send money to a prisoner’s account:

• Send money free by debit card, you will need the prisoner number and their date of birth. Go to www.gov.uk/send-prisoner-money (opens in a new window).
• As a cheque (subject to 10 working days for clearance)
• As a postal order

All first-time visitors must bring some form of photographic identification and a proof of address in order for them to be processed on to the system.

The following are examples of what could be used as photo ID:

• Current Passport
• EC ID card
• Driving Licence
• Senior Citizens transport pass, issued by local authority
• Employers or Student ID card (Only if this clearly shows the name of the visitor and the employer/educational establishment, has a photograph and signature that can be compared and if it is a recognised employer or educational establishment).

If your visitor is bringing children with them, they must bring the birth certificate or Passport and if it is not the parent or guardian of the child they must also bring written consent from the parent or guardian of the child and the birth certificate or Passport.

Car parking

Visitors' parking is provided free of charge. 

To maintain a suitable visiting environment and to comply with the security element within the hall visitors and prisoners are asked to follow the guidelines set out below.

• No items may be given to prisoners other than refreshments purchased in the hall.
• Prisoners and visitors will remain in their seats and not wander around the hall.
• All visitors will be searched and pass by the drug dog on entry to the establishment and if they leave the hall.
• Prisoners and visitors will not be abusive to staff, other prisoners, or other visitors.
• Children must be kept under control - including in the play area.
• Prisoners and visitors must not be unduly noisy.
• Prisoners may greet their visitors with a kiss and kiss them goodbye, this should be done in a manner that is not offensive to others, please note that there should be no other physical contact throughout the visit other than stated above.
• Prisoners and visitors must obey instructions from staff and leave quietly when instructed.
• Visitors may purchase refreshments from the tea bar for themselves and the prisoner; this is a table service option.
• Visitors may leave the hall to use the toilet providing staffing and other circumstances permit - The time spent will be part of the visit time allocated and level B searches will be carried out. 
• Visits will be subject to CCTV surveillance and staff will patrol the hall.
• Visits by children to prisoners who have been identified as presenting a potential risk to children will be particularly closely monitored.
• Cash is permitted into the prison for use at the coffee shop to a maximum value of £15 per adult and £5 per child. Notes are not accepted, coins only.

Appropriate Clothing

All visitors must be appropriately dressed at all times. This is a family environment and we do not wish to offend people. The following restrictions apply to all visits:

• All skirts must be no more than 3 inches above the knee (no mini-skirts).
• Leggings must not be see through.
• No trousers or jeans with holes/rips/multiple zips or pockets around the groin area, and they must be pulled up around the waist.
• Trousers/jeans must not have holes in the pockets near to the groin area.
• No short or cropped tops revealing the midriff.
• No see-through tops or tops that show excessive cleavage.
• No camisole tops.
• Underwear must be worn at all times.
• Males in t-shirts must have a sleeve, vests are not acceptable.
• Clothing displaying offensive patterns or logos will not be permitted (i.e. Cannabis leaves, racist logos, gang tags or offensive words).
• No steel toe caps.
• Sunglasses, hats and scarves are not permitted (with the exception of headwear for religious reasons).

Failure to comply may result in the prisoner's visitor being refused entry.

Social Visits

Social visits are booked by the prisoners using our Internal Pods system. Prisoners are shown how to use this on their induction (normally within the first 3 days). They need to register all their visitors’ details and then request a visit. This can take a few days. Unfortunately due to data protection we are unable to book any social visits for anyone calling in.

We have a kiosk in the Visits Hall where you can purchase hot drinks and snacks. Please be advised we can only accept payment via a credit card (cannot accept cash).

Social visits will be available every afternoon seven days a week and will be supplemented by visits in the morning at a weekend. The timings of these are shown below:

Day                              AM /PM

Monday           1430 – 1530    1600 - 1700

Tuesday          1430 – 1530    1600 – 1700

Wednesday     1430 – 1530   1600 – 1700

Thursday         1430 – 1530   1600 – 1700

Friday              1430 – 1530   1600 – 1700

Saturday    0900-1000 1030-1130     1430 -1530 1600-1700

Sunday      0900-1000 1030-1130     1430 -1530 1600-1700

On a Monday through to Friday, prisoners may, if they wish choose, to remain for the second session without exchanging a Visiting Order (VO) as demand is lower during a week day.

Amendments to Visits due to the New Core Day

If a prisoner wishes to book a two-hour visit at the weekend this will result in two VOs being used, one for each session from their entitlement. Due to the demand at the weekend one-hour slots are encouraged so that as many prisoners as possible have the opportunity to book a visit.

Two Hour sessions

Prisoners are advised that those who are using the entire/double session will still be subject to the break in between the two visits sessions in order to allow for the room to be tidied up etc. We will review this arrangement in the coming weeks so that there is less interruption to people’s visits.

Purple Visits

We are pleased to offer all prisoners access to the online app. Purple Visit, enabling video call visits with family and friend.

They are available at the following times:

Prisoners can book a session through the internal booking system (Pod). Please note that to participate in a Purple Visits session you must download the application to your mobile phone or tablet (not laptop) to enable booking to be confirmed. To download the app please visit https://www.purplevisits.com/ .

Professional / Legal visits

These will be available Monday to Friday between the times of 0900 - 1130hrs and 1430 - 1700hrs.

To book a legal visit please contact LG.Visits@sodexogov.co.uk. A confirmation will be emailed as soon as possible.

Video Link: to book a Video Link please email LG.Videolink@sodexogov.co.uk

please note: these departments will not be able to give out any prisoner information

COLLECTION OF DATA

In order to facilitate your visit to one of our prisons and to ensure that we deliver appropriate levels of security and safety and prevent crime, for identification purposes we shall collect your name, date of birth, address, a biometric template of your fingerprint and a photograph. A series of reference points from a finger print are collected, allowing a unique identification pattern. We do not collect or hold actual fingerprints.

Our prisons operate CCTV and staff may wear Body Worn Video Recording Equipment. We do not collect biometric readings or photographs of children under 16, however with the use of CCTV, images may routinely be captured.

DATA SHARING

We will only share your information with a third party where there is a legal obligation to do so.

RIGHTS OF ACCESS, CORRECTION, ERASURE AND RESTRICTION

You have legal rights in connection with personal information. Under certain circumstances, by law you have the right to:

• Request access to your personal information (commonly known as a “data subject access request”). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal information we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.
• Request correction of the personal information that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate information we hold about you corrected.
• Request erasure of your personal information. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal information where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal information where you have exercised your right to object to processing.
• Object to processing of your personal information by us or on our behalf in certain situations.
• Request the restriction of processing of your personal information. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of personal information about you, for example if you want us to establish its accuracy or the reason for processing it.

DATA RETENTION

We keep personal data in accordance with our clients’ and Sodexo’s retention procedures. These retention periods depend on the nature of the information (e.g. we apply different retention periods to different type of information such as CCTV and your visitor record), and may be subject to change.

If you have any questions or concerns about how long we retain your personal data, please contact the Data Protection Officer using the details below.

FURTHER ADVICE / GUIDANCE

To exercise your rights, you can contact us by writing to us at the following address: dataprotection.ukandie@sodexo.com or email the Global Data Protection Office at the following email address: dpo.group@sodexo.com stating your surname, first name and the reason for your request. We will most likely ask you for additional information in order to identify you and to enable us to deal with your request

You also have the right to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office and file a complaint. (https://ico.org.uk/concerns/)