Prisoners should be allowed phones in their cells as well as TVs, according to Scottish Prison Service (SPS) chief executive Colin McConnell.
He said placing phones in cells can help people keep in touch with their families which could, in turn, help prevent reoffending.
Mr McConnell said he is a “fan of TVs in cells” for prisoners, with “loads of positives that come from that”.
He told MSPs on Holyrood’s justice committee: “I would go much further. If I could be a wee bit reformist here, I would have telephones in cells as well.
“I know that might stick in the craw of certain members of the public and maybe some members sitting round the table here. It seems to me you get people to behave normally if you treat them normally you try to recreate normality.
“One of the things that’s generally accepted helps towards reducing reoffending is relationships and family contact.
“Anything reasonably and safely we can do to help sustain and develop family contact, we should give it a go.”
Committee convener Christine Grahame said both TVs and phones in cells should come “with the caveat that presumably its monitored what they are watching and obviously phone calls, so people don’t think they are in some kind of Marriot hotel instead of in prison”.