Barnardo’s, has just exposed the ugly side of the prison discipline system in Britain.

According to Locked Out, a new report published by the child welfare charity this week, male prisoners are being denied visits from their children as punishment.

It reveals that fathers have to ‘earn’ the right to family visits and must do so in far more difficult conditions, while female criminals have no such restrictions. Official guidance for women’s prisons states that children should not be penalised for the actions of their mothers.

The charity estimates that 200,000 children in Britain have a parent in jail.

If true, it’s a shocking practice that ignores the importance of the father in the upbringing of the children and the role of family in reducing rates of reoffending.

"Men can earn or lose their family visiting privileges in the same way that they can lose other incentives such as pillows."

Here’s how it works.

Under a set of rules called Incentives and Earned Privileges [IEP] there are four levels of status for prisoners - basic, entry, standard and enhanced - each coming with a set of permissions that can be taken away if their behaviour falls short of the required level. New prisoners begin at entry level and incentives cover access to letters, phone calls and visit, as well as creature comforts.

Men can earn or lose their family visiting privileges in the same way that they can lose other incentives such as pillows (standard or enhanced, maximum two, must be fire retardant to standard BS7175), games consoles (enhanced only, no internet connection allowed) or shin guards (standard or enhanced, gym use and sport field only). The word of one prison officer is usually enough to see one of these ‘rewards’ removed – there’s no adjudication and the appeals process is slow. The removal of legal aid in 2010 means prisoners have little chance of challenging unfair decisions.

Prison guards can remove visitation rights Credit: PA

All prisoners are entitled to a two-hour visit every four weeks – anyone can go to these, not just relatives. They are in a strictly controlled environment. Security is very tight and there’s no touching. Should a child visit their father during one of these sessions, they will be searched using a dog. They won’t be able to have physical contact. There’s little or no consideration given to the needs of the child to maintain a loving relationship with their father.

It’s pretty hard to be a family under the circumstances.

In addition, there are designated family visits - where restrictions on contact are laxer and an effort is made to make the children of inmates feel that they continue a close relationship with their father. Rules on these vary from prison to prison. But for all male prisoners, specialist family visits aren’t a right. They have to be earned via IEP rules and can be taken away as a disciplinary measure.

"By contrast, once the right to keep a caged bird has been earned it cannot be relinquished, out of concern for the bird’s welfare."

This does not apply for female prisoners.

Women’s family visits are specifically protected by Women’s Prison Order 4800, which says: ‘Children should not be penalised from visiting or contacting their mother because of the mother’s behaviour. The number of visits by children should not be restricted in order to serve the needs of an incentives scheme. Incentives schemes therefore should never be linked to access to family visits.’

It implies that family visits are seen as a necessary duty for women but a ‘treat’ for men, and regards the importance for children of seeing their father as less pressing than making sure the prisoners turn up for work on time.

By contrast, once the right to keep a caged bird has been earned (one bird and one birdcage, enhanced only) it cannot be relinquished, out of concern for the bird’s welfare.

The role of the father is being made less important for children of criminals Credit: Alamy

Robert [not his real name] was in prison for seven months last year. During the first three months he had two standard two-hour visits every four weeks.

He described them:

“You’ve got a hundred wooden tables, all bolted down, and plastic chairs. There's a big centre console, where four or five prison guards sit and watch you, and multiple guards walk up and down. Your family come in and come and join you there.

“You’re not really allowed any contact. When they first walk in, you’re allowed stand up and give them a quick cuddle and a kiss. Then you have to stay seated, which was very confusing and hard to explain to my daughter. She was three at the time.

“She wanted to sit on my lap, which is frowned upon. You run the risk of getting ‘don’t do that’ from an officer, making it harder to explain to your daughter. At the same time you don’t want to keep pushing them away - it’s tough enough as it is.

“The children are made to stand on a circle spot; a dog comes round and sniffs them." Robert

“You can’t interact properly. And the searching, for the children, the process they have to go through before they even get into the room, is tough. Very military. All their hair things get taken out; breast milk gets opened up and smelt.

“The children are made to stand on a circle spot; a dog comes round and sniffs them. There’s no fun element to it, no making the child feel all right about it.”

Robert then achieved enhanced status and was allowed to enrol in a fathers’ course - where inmates discuss the challenges of being away from their children, and are allowed a three-hour family visit each month.

He described the contrast with the standard visits:

“The volunteers decorate the hall just like a big children’s party. So there’s games everywhere, face painting, fancy dress, party food. The prison officers are a lot friendlier, they get involved with the children and talk to your partner. You can cuddle, get on the floor and run around the hall. You can be a proper family again for three hours.

“We ended up stopping the other visits and I saw my family once a month because it was such a better experience, especially for the children. And the searches were very different. My wife said they made it fun, made it a laugh and a joke with the dog, so the whole experience was a lot easier”.

Children are subjected to sniffer dogs before prison visits

The prospect of losing these family visits was a strong incentive to Robert to behave well, as he did not wish his children to be punished for his misdemeanours.

He explained: “If you’re sensible you just mix with the right people and keep your head down and do what’s right for you and your family, because at the end of the day you can lose your visits. They will take the visits away from you if you’re not good, which is punishing the family not just you.”

Barnardo’s is calling for a change in the rules surrounding these family visits and wants them made standard for male prisons, as well as female – separating them entirely from the IEP ‘rewards’ system, which was introduced into England and Wales in 1995.

There’s just one problem.

The Ministry of Justice insists that this is already their policy. It told me that, when it comes to family visits, male and female prisoners should be treated equally.

A spokesman said: “There is no difference in entitlements to visits for male and female prisoners ... Prisons cannot treat men and women differently with respect to visits based solely on their gender.

“We are not aware of any cases where men have been treated differently. Any that do come to light will be investigated.”

However Jane Evans, author of the Barnardo’s report, claims that many children of male prisoners are not getting the same level of family visits.

She said: “I’ve spoken to children who’ve never had a family visit day, those are only available to prisoners on enhanced status”.

The Ministry of Justice spokesman added: ‘"We absolutely agree that maintaining family ties, including through visits, plays a vital role in helping prisoners turn away from crime. We are carefully considering how family ties can be strengthened as part of our wider prison reforms.”

Fostering a commitment to family life is more than just one of the best methods to reduce reoffending rates.

It also takes some of the burden of imprisonment off children, who are innocent of crime but, under current rules, can be on the receiving end of a punishment far harsher than they deserve.