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In this new series, people from all walks of life offer an inside – often unfiltered – take on their livelihoods and what keeps them going in their jobs. In this instalment, witness the joys and pains of Ms Nur Syahzanna Hamzah’s work as a prison visit centre officer, as told to The Straits Times.

I am 33 and I work with the Singapore Prison Service to help inmates and their loved ones adjust to their new circumstances.

My day begins in one of Singapore’s five prison link centres, places where family members and friends can book a date and register their visit to an incarcerated loved one.

Facilitating these visits is important as they help inmates adjust to prison life, and being able to see their loved ones can alleviate depressive symptoms that may arise from imprisonment. The visits also provide opportunities for inmates to reconcile with and improve their relationships with their families. These meetings often lead to better behaviour and moods, reducing rates of misconduct.

My role is to offer as much support to them as possible. This involves anything from verifying and processing visitors to answering their questions on the prison’s policies and procedures. Sometimes it can be frustrating for loved ones to adhere to the rules.

Visitors ask about matters like inmates’ medical treatments and prison regime. “How will my loved ones cope with life in prison? Will there be necessary support provided for the inmates? Will there be counselling or financial and housing support for family members, especially those with children?”

If they need financial aid, we refer them to the Family Resource Centre.

The frequency and types of visits differ for different categories of inmates. For instance, sentenced inmates and those admitted to the Drug Rehabilitation Centre (DRC) can have two visits a month. These can consist of tele-visits, with a maximum of one face-to-face visit.

Remand inmates – those in custody by court order as they await trial or sentencing – can have up to four visits a week, including two 20-minute face-to-face ones. Tele-visits can last up to 30 minutes.

I get to meet visitors who come from many different backgrounds every day. Some bring up the challenges of solo parenting while their spouse is incarcerated.

It’s very sad when loved ones, including spouses or elderly parents, are turned away by inmates for certain reasons. I do my best to listen to these visitors and empathise with their situation. While I don’t know the real reason why inmates may refuse a meeting, their loved ones would ask me: “Why did they not want to see me?”

I have to slowly and tactfully manage their emotions. Even if we send the visitor in, the inmate will not want to step out of his or her cell.

When I learn about the hardships they face, it makes me think about the hardships I go through in my life. I have learnt to always be grateful for what I have.

I first heard about the job from a friend’s cousin who was a prison officer. I was initially exploring career options in the music industry after I graduated with a diploma in sonic arts, in which I learnt about sound creation.

But I did some research and found a prison officer’s job to be very interesting. So I thought: Why not give it a try?

I got the job in 2015 and was first deployed to Changi Women’s Prison – now called Institution A4 at Changi Prison Complex – to work directly with women inmates to ensure their safe and secure custody while facilitating their rehabilitation. I subsequently worked at the medical centre at Institution A4 before transitioning to prison management in 2020.

• Prison officers with a diploma receive a monthly salary that starts from $2,800, with a sign-on bonus of $30,000.
• Senior prison officers with a degree have a starting salary of $5,000, with a sign-on bonus of $15,000.
• Sign-on bonuses are subject to eligibility criteria and additional increments may be given for relevant work experience.

Engaging with inmates in my previous postings helped me develop interpersonal, communication and problem-solving skills, enabling me to effectively engage visitors, de-escalate tense situations and resolve issues in a calm and professional manner.

Sometimes, visitors would come into the centres demanding to see the prison officer in charge of the inmates to check on an inmate’s matters.

It’s impossible for me to accede to such requests, so I have to reassure them and listen to their problems first. I would tell them that I will relay their message to the officer, but that it will take time for the officer to give a response.

I have had first-hand experience of the struggles that inmates face with their loved ones while incarcerated. I realise the impact of visits on inmates cannot be discounted.

I also recall witnessing the looks of joy on both the faces of the inmate and a loved one, as soon as a tele-visit service was connected. That moment was really heart-warming.

Something as simple as children eagerly wanting to show their academic achievements to their incarcerated parents can uplift the inmates’ mood and provide motivation for them to continue their rehabilitation journey.

My colleagues and I assess and approve visit-related matters. Very common requests from loved ones include giving inmates spectacles or holy scriptures. They can also give them books, magazines, dentures, medication and photographs, subject to approval. For example, only plastic lenses with plain, black, opaque, plastic spectacle frames are allowed.

Food requests are also common – but we reject them to mitigate security risks as well as ensure the health and safety of inmates.

Families would want to bring their own snacks and biscuits, requesting permission to give food like cookies to inmates during festive celebrations. A family member once asked to bring in a birthday cake to celebrate the inmate’s birthday. This, of course, was not allowed.

Interesting requests centre on things like arranging video calls for family members who are overseas or questions about bringing in certain brands of toiletries. Sometimes, we get requests for updates about a loved one’s health or well-being, which we try to address while respecting privacy and security concerns.

I also assess non-typical requests on a case-by-case basis. One memorable incident was when a family member asked if she could wear her wedding gown during the visit so her brother, an inmate, could see her in it.

My colleagues and I allowed this after consideration, given that the attire was in accordance with the prison’s dress code. The dress was modest enough, so we allowed her to wear the wedding gown for her visit.

While this was not a typical request, it reflects how much family members want to include their incarcerated loved ones in meaningful moments in their lives.

I need to ensure that all the items carried into the prison during visits meet our security standards to ensure the safety of inmates and staff.

All reading materials are subject to physical screening and content screening. Those containing unsuitable content for inmates’ reading, including explicit content, will be rejected.

Prohibited items include notes and sharp items like needles and blades, which may be concealed in reading materials brought in by loved ones. We do not allow needles as they could be used for tattooing and may be used by inmates to harm themselves. Such needles are not sterilised and may cause infection.

We receive many “customised” books comprising loved ones’ personal messages and quotes. These are not allowed because they are regarded as notes. We advise visitors to write e-letters to inmates instead. Since January 2022, inmates have not been allowed to receive physical letters, postcards and greeting cards.

I have seen powdered substances too, which upon checking, turned out to be puja powder, which is commonly used in Hinduism as a symbol of devotion.

We found a blade before, and once, there was a small straw. I am not sure whether it was meant to be used for drugs. We reported it to the Singapore Police Force. If something prohibited is found in reading materials a visitor brings in, the visitor can be banned from bringing in books.

There are more than 600 titles available at the prison visit shops, ranging from storybooks and magazines to novels and dictionaries. The titles are periodically updated, based on what’s popular in the market.

Visitors can scan a QR code to see the full list of books and snacks that are available at the shops.

They can buy reading materials, including lifestyle magazines such as Reader’s Digest and Singapore Business Review; novels like Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series; and self-help books like Adam Grant’s Think Again and Morgan Housel’s The Psychology Of Money for their loved ones.

Subject to screening and approval, visitors may also bring in religious books for inmates.

Puzzle books like Sudoku and Word Search are very popular purchases by visitors because inmates can spend hours working on them. Inmates generally have only an hour of recreational time each day on weekdays, which they can use to exercise, watch television programmes, or play board games or ball games.

Recently, we started selling dictionaries. There are religious books sold at the shops, including the Bible and the Quran.

The quota for shop purchases depends on what the inmates are in prison for. For instance, three books or magazines per visit are usually allowed, while snack items can be bought only for inmates admitted to DRC and those on remand.

Family members of remand inmates can buy dried fruits, cream crackers and mixed nuts, while wheat and cream crackers can be bought for DRC inmates.

In April 2024, the dried apricots at the visit shops were replaced by dried mangoes to ensure the snack packs’ popularity.

Inmates can redeem items for themselves or their loved ones if they have accumulated enough privilege points under a system that rewards positive behaviour.

Visitors have to walk through a long tunnel during each visit to reach the inmates.

Seeing the inmates often gives visitors a lot of anxiety and worry. So we want to make the prison link centres feel more hospitable to make visitors feel welcome.

As part of projects that will enhance the visitor experience, we have put up wall decals and digital screens at the prisons in Jurong, Geylang Bahru and Changi to encourage positive interaction. Recently, we also started playing music from local radio stations along the tunnel in Changi to make the walk a more pleasant one. We also have a playroom for children who are visiting and have plans to renovate it.

Again, I understand this is a difficult journey for the loved ones and they can get very emotional. Knowing that I can be a source of comfort in a difficult situation makes the job very fulfilling.

Got an interesting job to share? Write in to us at ssharon@sph.com.sg.