official prison visitors attached to every prison . general sir david ramsbotham now lord ramsbotham of kensington hm chief inspector of prisons 1995 2001 in his book prisongate published by the free press 2003 . prison visiting is to do with friendship . it creates an informal friendly relationship which is concerned primarily with neither prisoners nor problems but with persons . not only do prison visitors want to extend to those imprisoned something of the emotional and intellectual enrichment experienced through friends . they particularly try to encourage the development of a constructive use of a prison sentence whereby inmates gain both a sense of belonging to the community and the realisation that they themselves have the ability to contribute to society s wellbeing . the contact between the outside and the inside enables both to understand each other better . a study of prison visiting . s.r. lochhead 1993