| Admin History | Visiting committees were mandated in the 1877 Prison Act (40 & 41 Vict c 21). The committee members were to be annually appointed by the Secretary of State from the court of quarter sessions or benches of magistrates. The Act enabled any member of the visiting committee to visit their allocated prison at any time; they were allowed uninhibited access to every part of the prison and all of its prisoners. It was the committee's responsibility to listen to and record any complaints or cases of abuse, to process any urgently required prison repairs, and to carry out any further tasks ordered by the Secretary of State. In practice, until the 1900s the committee rarely did anything beyond visiting the prison and noting how many prisoners were present. |