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Case ref:201200351
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Date:August 2012
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Body:Scottish Prison Service
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Sector:Prisons
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Outcome:Not upheld, no recommendations
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Subject:personal property
Summary
Mr C, who is a prisoner, complained about the prison's decision to refuse his request to watch a DVD of a family wedding. He said he had been allowed to do this in the past and that the decision was unreasonable.
The prison explained that they were unable to grant Mr C's request because his DVD had not come from the prison's approved supplier. In addition, as the prison were unable to review the content of the DVD for suitability, they said doing so would impact upon staff resources. They also said that it could set a precedent for similar requests from all prisoners.
We noted that the prison refused Mr C's request on the grounds of security and because of the impact upon staff resources. That was a decision the prison were entitled to take. We cannot question a decision the prison are entitled to take unless there is evidence of administrative error. An example of administrative error might be when the prison does not follow the proper process or fails to take account of relevant information prior to reaching a decision.
In Mr C's case, whilst we recognised that he was unhappy with the prison's decision, we were satisfied that it was made properly and that the prison had explained the reason for their decision.