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4.1 Personal Safety
4.2 Respect
4.3 Access to Opportunities
4.4 Family Ties
4.5 Purposeful Activity
4.6 Open-ended Questions
As the establishment approaches its first full operational year, senior management commissioned an evaluation of progress in line with the 'healthy prison' concept.
To this end every prisoner was issued with a copy of the Healthy Prison Questionnaire (HPQ). Of the 500 questionnaires distributed, 132(26%) were returned. The returns were generally evenly distributed across the establishment, indicating that the HPQ would provide a representative view of the prisoners at the establishment.
The results were analysed in line with the five basic tenants of the healthy prison philosophy:
personal safety; respect; access to opportunities; family ties; and purposeful activity.
The overwhelming trend was for prisoners to report feeling safe at the establishment, irrespective of houseblock with 88% of those questioned stating that they felt safe at HMP Kilmarnock. Perhaps not surprisingly the majority of those prisoners who did not feel safe were located on 'H' wing.
The establishment also fared well in comparison to other prisons. Forty-three percent of those questioned stated that they felt safer at HMP Kilmarnock than at other prisons they had been in and a further 46% stated that the establishment was as safe as other prisons.
Three further indices were used to quantify personal safety: bullying; assault; and drugs. In these areas there was some room for improvement.
Fourteen percent of those questioned reported being bullied, while 16% reported being assaulted at HMP Kilmarnock. With respect to the availability of drugs within the establishment the most common response (46%) indicated that there were less drugs at the establishment than in other prisons, although this was more pronounced on Houseblock One (52%) than Two (43%).
The most unequivocal result of the present research was the perception by prisoners that staff treat them with respect both on the wings and throughout the prison. Ninety-four percent of those questioned stated that staff treated them with respect on the wings, while 88% stated that staff treated them with respect elsewhere.
Performance in this category was judged in three areas: offending behaviour; education; and healthcare.
In terms of help addressing their offending behaviour, 48% of those questioned replied they had been helped in this area. However, there were marked differences across the houseblocks with 72% of those questioned on Houseblock One replying that they had received help, while only 21% of those on Houseblock Two reporting assistance in this area.
Access to education services was good with 54% of those questioned stating that they had received assistance in meeting their educational goals at the establishment.
The responses with respect to healthcare are more difficult to interpret. The majority of those questioned (63%) stated that their healthcare needs have been met.
Half of those questioned reported having had assistance in strengthening family ties at the establishment. Prisoners on Houseblock One reported having had more assistance in this area.
One of the key challenges for the establishment has been filling the long day required by the contract. The responses from the prisoners questioned during this research would indicate that significant gains have been made in achieving this goal. The majority of those questioned reported that the work they undertook had a purpose (60%) and was well paid (82%). A significant minority of those questioned (29%) felt that the work they undertook would help them find a job on release and this was particularly noticeable amongst those prisoners who qualified for the enhanced jobs.
As HMP Kilmarnock approaches the anniversary of its first full operational year, senior management at the establishment requested that an evaluation of the prisoners' views of the regime be undertaken.
Assessing the regime from the 'client' groups perspective is a difficult task given the range of initiatives which will impact upon a prisoner's day-to-day experiences and thus views of the establishment. Her Majesty's chief Inspector of Prisons (HMCIP) has adopted the 'Healthy Prison Concept' as a framework for such analysis. The healthy prison concept is more than a simple investigation of the physical health of prisoners. Essentially HMCIP assesses the 'health' of a prison by asking five broad questions:
The present paper reports the results of feedback on the 'health' of the establishment applying the framework used by HMCIP to prisoners at HMP Kilmarnock.
Five hundred, Healthy Prison Questionnaires (see appendix I) were distributed during the dinnertime lock-up period on Friday 3 March 2000 to every prisoner in the establishment.
The Healthy Prison Questionnaire (HPQ) consists of 21-items intended to assess the views of prisoners at HMP Kilmarnock about how effectively the regime is functioning in a number of areas including: personal safety, bullying, drugs and access to opportunities. The participants were assured that the answers they gave were confidential and each questionnaire was issued with a pre-addressed envelope to prevent disclosure of an individual's answers.
Of the 500 questionnaires distributed, 136 were returned. Of which 4 were spoilt. This gave a return rate of 132 or 26%, which was considered an acceptable return rate given the sampling method used.
Table one provides a breakdown of the returns by location. As can be seen from table one, the return rate is generally evenly distributed across houseblocks and within wings. The one exception to this being returns from 'A' Wing. The possible impact of this is discussed further in the discussion section. However, the distribution of the returns generally indicates that the results of the HPQ are reasonably representative of the views of prisoners at HMP Kilmarnock.
Table one: HPQ return rate by Location
|
Houseblock One |
Houseblock Two |
HCC |
Seg. |
||||||
|
64 (48%) |
62 (47%) |
4 (3%) |
2 (2%) |
||||||
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
||
|
5 (4%) |
15 (11%) |
21 (16%) |
23 (17%) |
16 (12%) |
10 (8%) |
12 (9%) |
24 (18%) |
||
Of the 132 participants who completed the HPQ: 115 (88%) were convicted; 15 (11%) were remanded to custody; and 1 (1%) was convicted, awaiting sentence. One participant failed to identify his custodial status.
Figure one plots the time spent at HMP Kilmarnock of the 132 participants in the study. As can be seen from figure one, the majority had been at the establishment for six months or more.
Figure one: Time served at HMP Kilmarnock
The results are broken down into the five areas believed by HMCIP to indicate a healthy prison: Personal safety; respect; access to opportunities; family ties; and purposeful activity.
The results are presented in each section first for the entire prison then by Houseblock (a breakdown of responses by actual location can be found in Appendix II).
The participants were asked five questions relating to personal safety at HMP Kilmarnock.
Do you feel safe at HMP Kilmarnock?
One-hundred and thirteen (88%) of those who answered the first question responded that they did feel safe at HMP Kilmarnock, while 15 (12%) reported that they did not feel safe. There were 4 missing answers.
When broken down by Houseblock: 59 (94%) of those questioned reported that they felt safe on Houseblock One, while 49 (83%) of those questioned reported that they felt safe on Houseblock Two. Six of the 10 prisoners who did not feel safe at the establishment were located on 'H' wing, while 3 were located on 'G' wing and the last on 'E' wing.
Do you feel safer at HMP Kilmarnock than other prisons you have been in?1
Fifty-seven (43%) of those questioned reported that they felt safer at HMP Kilmarnock than other prisons they had been in (or they expected it to be), 61(46%) stated that they felt as safe as they had in other prisons (or as they expected to be) and 14 (11%) stated that they felt less safe at HMP Kilmarnock than they had in other prisons (or expected to be).
When broken down by Houseblock: 28(43%) of those on Houseblock One felt more safe, 32(51%) felt as safe and 4(6%) felt less safe. For Houseblock Two, 26(43%) reported feeling more safe, 27(43%) feeling as safe and 9(14%) feeling less safe. 'H' wing again accounted for the majority of less safe responses in Houseblock Two (5; 50%).
Have you ever been the victim of bullying at HMP Kilmarnock?
One-hundred and eleven (86%) of those questioned reported that they had never been a victim of bullying at HMP Kilmarnock, while 18(14%) reported that they had been bullied at the establishment. There were 3 missing answers.
There was again variation between the houseblocks. Five (8%) of those questioned on Houseblock One reported being bullied at the establishment, while 13(22%) reported being bullied on Houseblock Two. Perhaps not surprisingly 9 of these cases were located on 'H' wing.
Have you ever been assaulted at HMP Kilmarnock?
One-hundred and nine (84%) of those questioned reported that they had never been assaulted at HMP Kilmarnock, while 21(16%) reported that they had been assaulted at the establishment. There were 2 missing answers.
The variation in terms of reported assaults across houseblocks was not as noticeable as in some of the previous categories. In Houseblock One, 9(14%) of those questioned reported being assaulted, while on Houseblock Two, 11(18%) of those questioned reported being assaulted. Again, 'H' wing was over-represented with 7 participants reporting being the victim of assault (6 of these 7 also reported being the victims of bullying).
1 If HMP Kilmarnock was the prisoner's first prison he was asked to rate safety against how safe he expected it to be.
How much drugs are there at HMP Kilmarnock?2
Fifty-six (46%) of those questioned reported that there were less drugs at HMP Kilmarnock than at other prisons they had been in (or than they expected to be), 38(32%) reported that there were the same amount (or as much as they expected there to be) and 27(22%) reported that there were more drugs than in other prisons (or than they expected there to be). There were 11 missing answers.
There were some differences in impressions about the availability of drugs across houseblocks. On Houseblock One, 31(52%) of those questioned said that there were less drugs at HMP Kilmarnock than at other prisons, 16(27%) said there were the same amount and 13(20%) said there were more. On Houseblock Two, 24(43%) of those questioned said there were less drugs at HMP Kilmarnock, 21(37.5%) said there were the same amount and 11(19.5%) said there were more drugs. There was little to choose between the distribution of responses across wings with regards reporting of the availability of drugs.
The participants were asked two questions with regards to being treated with respect by staff at HMP Kilmarnock.
Do staff treat you with respect on the wings at HMP Kilmarnock?
One-hundred and twenty-two (94%) of those questioned reported that staff on the wings treated them with respect, while 8(6%) reported that wing staff did not treat them with respect. There were 2 missing answers.
There was only a small difference between houseblocks with 61(95%) of participants on Houseblock One and 56(92%) of Houseblock Two reporting that staff treated them with respect.
Do staff treat you with respect elsewhere in the prison?
One-hundred and fourteen (88%) of those questioned reported that staff elsewhere in the prison treated them with respect, while 15(12%) reported that staff from elsewhere in the prison did not treat them with respect. There were 3 missing answers.
There was a larger difference between houseblocks in terms of respect by staff elsewhere in the prison. 60 (94%) of those questioned on Houseblock One reported that they were treated with respect, while 50(82%) on Houseblock Two provided the same feedback. Participants from 'G' (3) and 'H' wings (6) comprised most of those who thought other staff did not treat them with respect.
The participants were asked three questions with regards to access to opportunities at HMP Kilmarnock.
2 If HMP Kilmarnock was the prisoner's first prison he was asked to rate availability of drugs against how much drugs he expected to be available.
Have you been helped to address your offending behaviour at HMP Kilmarnock?
Sixty-two (48%) of those questioned reported that they had been helped to address their offending behaviour at HMP Kilmarnock, while 67 (52%) reported that they had not received help in this area. There were 3 missing answers.
There were marked differences in access to work aimed at addressing offending behaviour across the houseblocks. Forty-five (72%) of those questioned on Houseblock One reported having been helped to address their offending behaviour at HMP Kilmarnock, this compared with only 13 (21%) on Houseblock Two.
Have you been helped to meet your educational goals at HMP Kilmarnock?
Sixty-eight (54%) of those questioned reported that they had been helped to meet their educational goals at HMP Kilmarnock, while 58(46%) reported that they had not received help in this area. There were 6 missing answers.
In terms of access to education services at HMP Kilmarnock there were only small differences across the houseblocks. Thirty-five (57%) of those questioned on Houseblock One reported having been helped to meet their educational goals at HMP Kilmarnock, while 30(49%) reported help in this area on Houseblock Two.
Have your healthcare needs been met at HMP Kilmarnock?
Eighty-one (63%) of those questioned reported that their healthcare needs had been met at HMP Kilmarnock, while 48 (37%) reported that their needs had not been met in this area.
There were 3 missing answers.
In terms of healthcare issues there were again only small differences between the houseblocks. Thirty-six (58%) of those questioned on Houseblock One stated that their healthcare needs had been met at HMP Kilmarnock, while 41(66%) reported having their needs met in this area on Houseblock Two.
The participants were asked one question with regards to family ties.
Have you had the opportunity to strengthen family ties at HMP Kilmarnock?
Sixty-four (50%) of those questioned reported that they had, had the opportunity to strengthen family ties while at HMP Kilmarnock, while 64(50%) reported that their needs had not been met in this area. There were 4 missing answers.
There was a marked difference between the houseblocks in terms of strengthening family ties. Thirty-nine (61%) of those questioned on Houseblock One had received assistance in this area, while only 21(35%) of those questioned on Houseblock Two had received similar assistance.
The participants were asked three questions in relation to purposeful activity.
Do you feel the job you have provides you with work that has a purpose?
Seventy-nine (60%) of those questioned reported that the work they did had a purpose, 23(18%) reported that they were not provided with purposeful work and 29(22%) did not currently work. There was 1 missing answer.
In terms of differences across houseblocks. Forty-eight (75%) of those questioned on
Houseblock One reported that the work they undertook at HMP Kilmarnock had a purpose, 13(20%) did not feel that their work had a purpose and 3(5%) did not work. On Houseblock
Two, 29(47%) reported that the work they undertook had a purpose, 10(16%) did not feel
their work had a purpose and 23(37%) did not work.
Do you think the work you do at HMP Kilmarnock will help you find a job on release?
Thirty-seven (29%) of those questioned reported that they thought their job at HMP Kilmarnock would help them find work on release, 63 (50%) did not think it would help their work prospects post-release and 29(21%) either did not work at HMP Kilmarnock or did not know if it would improve their chances. There were 3 missing answers.
Twenty-eight (44%) of those questioned on Houseblock One felt that the work they performed at HMP Kilmarnock would help with employment post-release, this compared with 9(15%) on Houseblock Two.
How would you describe the pay?
One-hundred and seven (82%) of those questioned reported that the pay at HMP Kilmarnock was better than in other prisons, 2(1.5%) reported that it was the same, 2(1.5%) reported that it was worse and 19(15%) reported that they did not know. There were 2 missing answers.
In terms of pay, 62(97%) of those questioned on Houseblock One reported that the pay was better than in other prisons. On Houseblock Two, 42(68%) identified the pay as better, I(2%) felt the pay was the same as at other prisons, 2(4%) felt it was worse and 16(26%) did not work.
In, addition to being questioned on areas relating to the healthy prison concept, participants in the study were also asked two open-ended questions: (1) 'What do you like least about HMP Kilmarnock?'; and (2) 'What do you like most about HMP Kilmarnock?'. Participants were able to identify more than one feature of the regime and the responses are detailed below.
What do you like least about HMP Kilmarnock?
There were 146 responses identifying features of the regime which were least liked by the participants. The most notable of these were the amount of unlock/spare time (30; 21%), the food (21; 14%) and the visits area (19;13%). Table two plots the responses to this question.
Figure Two: Areas of the regime which prisoner like least at HMP Kilmarnock
What do you like most about the regime at HMP Kilmarnock?
There were 211 responses identifying features of the regime which were most liked by the participants. The most notable of which were staff respect (50; 24%), relaxed atmosphere in the prison (23; 11%) and amount of unlock (20; 9%). Table three plots the responses to this question.
Figure Three: Areas of the regime which prisoners like best at HMP Kilmarnock
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