Thisfavourableviewofvisitingisnot,however,sharedby allwritersonthesubject.Theauthorsofarecentstudyof Pentonville2arefarfromenthusiasticabouttheschemeat thatprison.Atthetimeoftheirinquirytherewereabout twentyvisitorswhovariedinageandoutlookbutweremainly ofthesamesocio-economicstatus,beingmiddleclass.Some adoptedwhattheauthorsfeltwasanexcessivelyevangelical attitude,andsomewereresentedbythosetheyvisited.The attitudeofprisonerstovisitorsandviceversanatuallyvaried fromcasetocase.Someprisonerscomplainedthatoncethey hadbeenallocatedavisitor'itwasdifficulttogetridofhim' whilesomevisitorsfeltthattheirprisonerswereoutto'con them'.Yetinspiteofthesecriticismstheauthorsfeltthat visitorscouldmakeavaluablecontributiontoprisonwelfare, andurgedtheminaspeciallectureentitledFriend,Counselloror Therapist3tore-appraisetheirposition.Thelecturerstressed thatvisitorsshouldmaintaincontactwithtrainedsocialworkers, andthattheirmainfunctionwasreally~ustlistening'. Listeningwasclearlyanimportantpartoftheworkofthe successfulvisitorsatHolloway,andonthevalueofthisthere seemstobegeneralagreement.Howmuchmorevisitorscan andshouldcontributeisamatterofopinion,anddifferent peopleworkinginandwritingaboutdifferentprisonshave differentviews.