items allowed in prison

Take Cash For Your Prison Account

To be able to buy things in prison such as phone credit or items on the canteen (will cover later) you need to have money in your prison account.

You can take cash with you into your account which will be counted at reception, this will then be credited to your prison account. I took £100 in with me which will last about a month depending on how you spend it.

Phone calls are quite costly, so if you have quite a few people to call you will probably chew through a lot of the funds in phone credit alone. The canteen, which is where prisoners can order goods such a food and toiletries (chocolate, drinks, toothbrush, shower gel) is also not subsidised and even ordering a few items a week can add up.

People with deeper pockets had more sent in and more to spend so depends on what your budget is like.

After your initial funds have depleted and you need to top it up, people on the outside can do this online by using a service called Send Money to a prisoner (https://www.gov.uk/send-prisoner-money)

Full List of items allowed in Prisons, Open-type Prisons and Detention Centres
attached to prisons

List of items allowed in Prisons, Open-type Prisons and Detention Centres
attached to prisons
1. Clothes, personal belongings and food that can be kept in the sleeping
departments
1.1. Underwear and sleepwear:
– briefs (up to 6 pairs)
– t-shirts (up to 6)
– socks (up to 6 pairs)
– pyjamas (up to 2 pairs)
1.2. Sportswear and accessories:
– training suits (up to 3)
– sports shorts and t-shirts (up to 2)
– trainers (up to 2 pairs)
– table tennis bats, balls and net
– badminton set
– ball (for football, volleyball, basketball, handball)
NB! These items can be used only in the free time for sports or at
sporting events, or, exceptionally under different circumstances with
the Director’s permission.
1.3. Shoes
– everyday shoes (up to 2 pairs)
– winter shoes (up to 2 pairs)
– sandals (up to 2 pairs)
– flip-flops and slippers (up to 2 pairs)
1.4. Toiletries
– hand razor and electric razor (no open blades)
– shaving soap/cream/foam/gel and tooth paste (bought from the prison
shop)
– shaving brush and tooth brush (bought from the prison shop)
– mechanical and electric tooth brush (one of each, bought from the prison
shop)
– dry deodorant, air freshener, toilet freshener (one of each, bought from the
prison shop)
– perfume and eau-de-Cologne in their fabric packaging – up to 150 ml, in
non-aerosol containers (one of each, bought from the prison shop)
– clothes brush (one, bought from the prison shop)
– nail clippers (without a blade or scissors), comb, compact mirror
– cosmetic cream (bought from the prison shop)
– toilet soap, washing soap, soap-box, shampoo, liquid soap and shower gel
(bought from the prison shop)
– hair conditioner (bought from the prison shop)
– detergent, fabric softener, dish soap, surface cleaner (bought from the
prison shop)
– towels and handkerchiefs (no restrictions)
– toilet paper and kitchen rolls (bought from the prison shop)
– sanitary pads and cosmetic products (for female prisoners, bought from
the prison shop)
– cotton buds and tooth picks (bought from the prison shop)
1.5. Miscellaneous household items
– washing bowl or bucket (plastic)
– sweeping broom and dust-pan, mop, kitchen sponge, scourer, plastic table
cover
– plastic water bottle (up to 3 litres), water glass, knife and fork (plastic), tea
spoon and table spoon (plastic or metal)
– mechanical or electric coffee grinder (plastic)
– linen (up to two sets) and blankets (up to two)
– pillow and duvet (bought from the prison shop)
– TV set (up to 19 inches for CRT screens and up to 24 inches for
LED/plasma screens, with a telescopic antenna and no wireless
connection), a TV tuner and an indoor antenna (up to 50 cm) – bought
from the prison shop
– portative radio receiver and audio player (with no recording function and
wireless connection), wire headphones, batteries and audio adapter –
bought from the prison shop
– electronic games (size up to 30/30 cm), no VCD, DVD, AVI and other
video formats and wireless connection
– tin opener, tin foil and baking paper
– a small immersion heater (standard one) and coffee maker (up to 500 ml),
bought from the prison shop
– electric fan (up to 100 Watt, bought from the prison shop)
– electric hair/beard trimmer, ear and nose trimmer – bought from the prison
shop
– condoms
– plastic ashtray
– electrical connector block with up to 3 nests and up to 3 metres cable –
bought from the prison shop
– hair dryer (up to 2000 Watt) – bought from the prison shop
– electric epilator (for female prisoners only) – bought from the prison shop
1.6. Other personal belongings
– Trousers, hats, gloves (up to 2 pairs of each)
– sweaters or cardigans (up to 2)
– wrist watch (no smart watches or bands)
– envelopes, writing paper, post cards, stamps, pens, pencils, family
photographs, private correspondence
– textbooks, educational supplies, magazines, newspapers, books,
stationery (glue must be bought from the prison shop)
– medication, orthopaedic aids, blood pressure monitor, blood glucose
meter, prescription hearing aid
– electric cooler box (up to 25 litres) – bought from the prison shop
– prescription glasses, sunglasses
– wedding ring
– shoe polish and shoe brush (bought from the prison shop)
– boars games(chess, domino, backgammon, Ludo, checkers), playing
cards
– thread, needles, buttons
– cigarettes (bought from the prison shop or brought by visitors)
– electronic cigarettes, IQOS, smoking pipe, matches, lighter, tobacco roller,
rolling tobacco (bought from the prison shop)
– charger/adapter, USB/micro USB, USB Type C charging cable (bought
from the prison shop)
– a small padlock
– soft sports/travel bag
1.7. Food
– long-lasting packaged sweets, candy, bakery products (bought from the
prison shop)
– coffee, tea, cocoa powder, soft drinks and bottled water (bought from the
prison shop)
– sugar (up to 1 kg) or artificial sweeteners, honey (no glass containers) –
bought from the prison shop
– instant foods (soups, noodles, stock cubes) – bought from the prison shop
– nuts (bought from the prison shop)
– food supplements (bought from the prison shop)
2. Food products which can be kept at designated places specified by the prison
administration
– Long-lasting meat products (no semi-processed or raw products)
– Sausages and cold cut mats (bought from the prison shop)
– dairy products – cheese, yellow cheese, curd, butter, milk, yoghurt and
ice-cream (bought from the prison shop)
– eggs (bought from the prison shop)
– canned food (tins only, no glass containers) – bought from the prison shop
– fruit and vegetables
– vinegar, oil, olive oil, margarine, salt, herbs and spices (bought from the
prison shop)
– ketchup and mustard (bought from the prison shop)
3. Items for which a special permission from the prison governor is needed
3.1. Clothes
– suit (no tie)
– shirts (up to 3)
– jackets (up to 2)
– winter coat/jacket (1)
– belt (1)
3.2. Personal musical instruments (must be stored in special premises and can be
used with a special order issued by the governor)
3.3. Portable electric burner, small oven, pot, skillet, roasting pan for shared use
(must be stored in special premises and can be used with a special order issued by
the governor)
4. Other items
4.1. Prisoners in open-type prisons can have additional personal items and food
products which are specified by the prison governor of each prison.
4.2. There are additional lists of items for women and minors, specified by prison
governor of the relevant prison.