The prison should allow new arrivals the chance to make a telephone call when they arrive to let their families know where they are.  This may not happen if they arrive late in the evening or the reception process takes a long time. 

Once in prison, they have to pay for telephone calls, so they may not have called because they do not have any money in their account. 

Prisons operate a PIN system for the telephones which may take a few days to set up. 

There may be only certain times of day when prisoners are able to use the phone, and they may have to queue. 

Some prisoners do not phone home because they are ashamed or don’t want to worry their families. 

Prisoners are not allowed mobile phones, so if they have not written down or memorised their stored numbers, they may not be able to get in touch.