Prisoners' Advice Service

PAS provides free legal advice to prisoners through its Advice Line, Letters Clinic and Outreach Clinics. NB: PAS does not advise via Facebook. If you are the relative of a prisoner, we must first hear from them that we can discuss their case with you. 

WHO ARE WE?

PAS is an independent registered charity offering free legal advice to prisoners.

Examples of issues we can advise on include: Parole – Temporary Release – Life Sentences - Categorisation - Mother and Baby Units - Adjudications - Sentence Calculation - Licences/Recalls

WHAT DO WE DO?

- We provide legal advice and information to prisoners in England and Wales regarding their rights, the application of the Prison Rules and conditions of imprisonment.

- We take up prisoners’ complaints about their treatment inside prison by providing free advice and assistance on an individual and confidential basis, taking legal action where appropriate.

We are here to explain what the Prison Rules mean and how they affect you. If you have a complaint about your treatment you can contact us for advice. It may help if you also submit a request/complaint form on your wing/unit.

We will either advise you on how to take your complaint further yourself, take it up for you and enter into correspondence with the prison and Prison Service on your behalf, or provide you with details of solicitors’ firms who deal with the relevant field of law and who you can contact for further assistance.

HOW DO WE DO IT?

You can telephone us on 020 7253 3323 between 10:00 and 12:30 and 14:00 and 16:30 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 16:30 until 19:00 on Tuesday evenings. We operate an answer phone service at all other times - please leave a message.

You can write to us at PO BOX 46199, London EC1M 4XA.

PLEASE REMEMBER

Prisoners who are concerned about disclosing private details in mail to legal professionals are within their rights to write “Rule 39 applies” on the front of envelopes to legal advisers to ensure the letter is not opened by prison staff.

Rule 39 is the Prison Rule which relates to confidential legal correspondence. It can only be used for letters directed to the courts or legal advisers.