Many of you will have seen that since Michael Gove took over from Chris Grayling as Justice Secretary he has removed the limit that prisoners may only have twelve books in possession and has said that they can now be sent in to prisoners from any source. This goes a long way to increasing the opportunities for prisoners to engage in self study, raising literacy levels and reducing the rate of reoffending but it has other effects too.
Being able to receive a simple gift from family can make a massive difference to prisoners, reminding them that they do have people on the outside who love and care about them and who haven’t forgotten them. It can make you feel like you are still part of the family unit even when you are hundreds of miles away and only see each other every other week or so.
But of course, it is better to give than to receive and giving gifts is something which many prisoners find near impossible. Recently this is something I tried to address.