We have worked with Royal Holloway, using a grant they were awarded from the Economic and Social Research Council, to make 20 years’ worth of anonymised prisoner survey data available to other researchers.
What does the survey data cover?
Our survey questions cover all aspects of who people are and their experiences of prison. For example, as well as basic demographic information, they also ask whether prisoners have experience of the care system, and if they have a mental health concern, or a drug or alcohol problem. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, it has not always been possible. Before 2010 the questions that we asked regularly changed, and this may mean that there is some missing data for some prisons. This is much less likely in the more recent data sets.
How can I access the data?
You can access it through the UK Data Service. Users can also apply for a more detailed Special Licence version of these data via the UKDS website.
To share observations or ask questions, please contact us at ukda_requests@hmiprisons.gov.uk.