Prisoners sentenced to short terms of imprisonment, not exceeding fourteen days: With two or more convictions. Girls under sixteen years of age: First conviction.
Girls under sixteen years of age: With two or more convictions.
All officers of the prison shall endeavour to carry out this rule, bearing in mind that the object of classification is to prevent the contamination by depraved prisoners of prisoners not so depraved and to attempt to ensure that a prisoner shall go out of prison not worse than he came in.
VISITS AND COMMUNICATIONS TO PRISONERS, &c.
240. Convicted prisoners, with the exception of those heretofore mentioned, after they have served the first three months, may write and receive one letter every three months; but the Superintendent may permit any prisoner to write a special letter or to see his friends, immediately after conviction, if for the purpose of making arrangements respecting his property or otherwise.
241. All letters to and from prisoners (except as provided by rule 171) shall be read by the Superintendent, and shall be forwarded or kept back according to the nature of their contents. Events of importance to prisoners may be communicated to them at any period by the Superintendent.
242. The privilege of writing and receiving letters may be postponed or forfeited by misconduct, if so ordered by the Superintendent; but no such order shall be made for a period longer than one month from the time of the prisoner's last report.
243. Convicted prisoners, with the exception of those heretofore mentioned, shall be allowed, after the first three months, to see their relations or friends once in three months, unless such visits are prohibited by the Superintendent for misconduct; but no prohibition shall be made for a period longer than one month from the time of the prisoner's last report.
244. The days and hours for visits to the prisoners shall be fixed by the Superintendent, and shall be publicly notified at the gates of the prison.
245. If any prisoner is committed to prison in default of the payment of any sum which, in pursuance of any conviction or order, he is required to pay, such prisoner shall be allowed to communicate by letter with and to see any of his friends or his solicitor, at any reasonable time, for the bona fide purpose of providing for the payment which would procure his release from prison.
246. In case of very serious illness, prisoners may see their relations, if not objected to on medical grounds.
247. The visits of prisoners' friends shall in no case exceed fifteen minutes, and shall always be made in the presence of an officer of the prison. So far as practicable, female prisoners shall be visited by female officers. The visits shall be recorded in a book kept for that purpose.
248. Officers of Police may visit prisoners for the purpose of identification, on production of an order from the Police, or with the authority of a Magistrate.
249. Officers of the Law, with warrants or orders for serving writs or other legal process on persons within the prison, shall be admitted into the prison for that purpose in the presence of the Matron or other officer.
250. All prisoners may petition the Governor once shortly after conviction if they wish, and not afterwards unless there are any circumstances which the Superintendent considers should be brought to the notice of the Governor.
251. No visitor shall be admitted unless he has given his name and address, and stated his relationship to or connection with the prisoner he wishes to see, if any; and these particulars shall be duly recorded.
252. No visits shall be made on a Sunday, except in cases of emergency.
253. Prisoners who have undergone imprisonment and are six months clear of their sentence may receive a visit every two months and write and receive one letter every two months.
254. The prisoners shall be locked in their cells, at the discretion of the Superintendent, on Sundays and other days when they are not required to labour; care being taken that they have one hour's exercise daily.
255. Prisoners sentenced to fourteen days and under may be locked in their cells during the whole of their sentence, with the exception of one hour's daily exercise, as the Superintendent may direct.
256. Prisoners detained as dangerous or suspicious characters with or without previous convictions, who cannot find security, shall be locked in their cells. They shall keep their cell utensils perfectly clean at all times and have one hour's exercise daily.
257. Male and female prisoners shall always be so confined as to prevent the former conversing with or holding any communication with the latter, except on the written order of the Superintendent, and in the presence of an officer.
258. A light shall be kept burning constantly throughout the night in every ward or division of the prison in which prisoners shall be confined, but such light shall not be placed within reach of the prisoners.
259. No male subordinate officer shall enter the Women's Prison unless ordered there by the Superintendent or summoned by the Matron for the purpose of quelling a disturbance or of giving other assistance.
PRISONERS UNDER SENTENCE OF DEATH.
266. In all cases when sentence of death has been passed on a prisoner, the Chief Warder may cause him to be thoroughly searched, and remove from him any article which it is considered dangerous or inexpedient for him to have in his possession.
267. Every prisoner sentenced to death shall be confined in some safe place within the prison, apart from all other prisoners, and shall be placed under the constant charge and observation of an officer of the prison, both by day and night. He shall be allowed such diet and amount of exercise as the Superintendent may direct.
268. The cell or room in which a prisoner condemned to death is placed shall be previously examined by the Superintendent, who is to satisfy himself of its fitness and safety, and record the result of his examination in his journal.
269. The prisoner may be visited by his relations, friends, and legal advisers, at his own request, and, if required by him, a minister of religion to which the prisoner belongs.
270. All executions shall take place within the prison at the time appointed by the Governor. The Superintendent of the prison will be present to superintend every execution.
271. During the preparation for an execution, and at the time of execution, no person shall enter the prison who is not legally entitled to do so, except with the permission of the Superintendent. The officers superintending the execution shall, if possible, be decently clothed in black.
WOMEN.
272. No person shall be punished under the provisions of The Prison Ordinance, 1885, or of these Rules, until he has had an opportunity of hearing the charges and evidence against him and of making his defence.
273. Prisoners shall obey the orders of the Superintendent and the Chief Warder and of the officers who shall be placed over them from time to time.
274. Prisoners are strictly forbidden to have in their possession, or to attempt to receive, money, tobacco, opium, flint, steel, iron, implements, string, immoral books, or any articles not allowed to them by the rules of the prison, nor permitted by the Superintendent, and they are not to conceal any articles of food nor any weapons about their persons or in any ward or cell.
275. Subject to the provisions of rule 33, no punishment nor privation of any kind shall be awarded except by the Superintendent or by the Superintendent in conjunction with a Visiting Justice.
276. The following acts are declared to be offences against prison discipline:--
1. Disobedience of the rules of the prison by any prisoner.
2. Common assault by one prisoner on another.
3. Profane cursing and swearing and obscene language by any prisoner.
4. Indecent behaviour by any prisoner.
5. Wilful mismanagement of work or idleness or negligence at work or refusal to labour by any convicted criminal prisoner.
6. Disorderly conduct by any prisoner.
277. A prisoner guilty of any offence under the preceding Rule may be punished for the same by the Superintendent with any one or more of the following punishments :--
1. Close confinement in a partially darkened or light cell on bread or rice and water for a period not exceeding seven days.
2. Deprivation of his pork for not more than four meals consecutively.
3. Separate confinement upon full diet and the authorized scale of penal or reduced penal diet on alternate weeks for any period not exceeding forty-two days, of which period any term of close confinement awarded at the same time shall form part.
278. The Superintendent may restrain in cross-irons of ten lbs. weight, or less, or in handcuffs, any disorderly or violent prisoner for not longer than twenty-four hours at one time; if a longer period than twenty-four hours is required, a written order must be obtained from one of the Visiting Justices for the week, who shall at once visit the prisoner.