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Legal Advice Centre

Prisoner Property Project

We currently deliver a Prisoner Property Project which we set up last year at HMP Huntercombe, where 8 students have the opportunity to go into the prison, advise and teach prisoners about their property rights through the three following ways;

  • by developing a self-help toolkit under the supervision of qualified solicitors,
  • through the delivery of interactive workshops for prisoners at the prison,
  • and where appropriate advising clients on a 1-2-1 basis through a written letter of advice.

Our aim is to assist those who have issues around prisoner property that might be lost or damaged when they transfer between prisons as well as how to retrieve personal property that was held and/or lost by the police following arrest.

As well as carrying on at Huntercombe we are now looking to do something similar in a London prison, if the need is there.

Toolkit

The Queen Mary Legal Advice Centre Students have produced a self-help toolkit, to help prisoners understand their rights in relation to their property that has been lost, damaged or stolen within the prison system. It also covers property which has been retained or damaged by the police following an investigation. This toolkit provides examples of the relevant forms needed to make any claims in relation to lost, damaged or stolen property.

The tool kit has been designed to be a user friendly guide for those without a legal background or legal knowledge. This open access resource if free and available for download. If your organisation would like hard copies please do get in touch with us at lac@qmul.ac.uk.

View or download the toolkit: How to reclaim lost property from a prison or police station [PDF 1,004KB].

View or download the toolkit in French [PDF 10,183KB]

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