Voices of Prisoners: Experiences Shared with Let’s Be Heard – A Case Study
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Published on: February 17, 2025
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Table of contents
2. Methodology
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In collaboration with the SPS, 800 Let’s Be Heard response forms were distributed proportionately around the 15 SPS prisons, based on prison population. This number was based on a 10% sample of the estimated 8,000 Scottish prison population at the time of survey distribution. Each form was pre-marked to enable identification of returned forms as being from the prison service and separate to responses from the general public. Although these forms were marked as coming from someone within the SPS, respondents were still given the opportunity to remain anonymous, as was the case with members of the public who shared their experiences.
Let’s Be Heard received 98 forms from prisoners, a 12.25% response rate, a standard rate for a mail-in survey. From these, 74 forms were used in analysis for this case study: six of the returned forms had no written answers, so could not be included; 18 returned forms included experiences not specific to life in prisons. These forms will instead be analysed as part of broader Let’s Be Heard reporting. While this is a sizeable sample for prisoners, it represents just over 1% of the Scottish prison population at the time of submission. Given the self-selected nature of the sample and its small proportion relative to the overall prison population, the responses should be seen as reflective of the views of the respondents rather than a statistically significant representation of the entire Scottish prison population.
Respondents were asked to answer three open-ended questions and additional demographic questions. The three core questions asked respondents to share their experiences, the impacts of these experiences, and any lessons they believed should be learned. Together, the answers to these questions were thematically analysed alongside an analysis of the submitted demographics and equalities data.
This case study also includes relevant data on the experiences of prisoners gathered from broader research and public engagement events by Let’s Be Heard, in order to provide further context and information to the main thematic findings. Incorporating this data helps to contextualise the experiences of prisoners by capturing the experiences of those working in prisons, those involved in the justice system and those who were not incarcerated at the time of the research.
Identifying information, including prison names, have been removed from excerpts in order to ensure the anonymity of respondents.
2.1 Who were the respondents?
The 74 responses analysed for this case study were received from across 12 of the 15 SPS institutions that received Let’s Be Heard response forms. Due to the anonymous nature of the forms, it was not possible to identify the prison location of all the respondents. The map below shows the prisons that are represented in this case study:
Figure 1: Map of the prisons where prisoners shared their experiences with Let’s Be Heard:
A map of Scotland, highlighting the prisons that submitted experiences to Let's Be Heard
| Prisons where prisoners engaged with Let’s Be Heard: |
|---|
| HMP Edinburgh |
| HMP Barlinnie |
| HMP Shotts |
| HMP Addiewell |
| HMP Polmont |
| HMP Greenock |
| HMP Glenochil |
| HMP Stirling |
| HMP Kilmarnock |
| HMP Grampian |
| HMP Castle Hunty Open Estate |
| HMP Inverness |
A key part of the work of Let’s Be Heard is to help the Inquiry determine whether the pandemic in Scotland affected people in different and unequal ways. To help it do this, Let’s Be Heard is collecting equalities data alongside people’s responses to the three core questions. People can choose to complete optional additional questions about protected characteristics, including age, sexual orientation and ethnicity. Collecting this data helps Let’s Be Heard better understand the background, intersectionality and inequalities surrounding people’s experiences, and report on them.
Key demographic data from the 74 responses shared in this case study include: age, gender, sexuality, religion, disability status, and ethnicity. Please note that not all demographic questions were answered by every respondent and percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole %. A snapshot of the overall demographic make-up of Scottish prisons in 2021-2022 can be found at the end of this section.
Age
Two thirds of prisoners who responded were aged 31 to 60, with the majority in the 31-40 age group. The smallest proportion of respondents were in the youngest and oldest age categories, respectively 16-20 and 71-80.
Gender
Of those respondents who told Let’s Be Heard their gender, the majority who took part were male (84%). 12% were female. 4% of respondents answered as ‘prefer not to say’ or chose not to respond to this question.
Sexual orientation
Most of the respondents who told Let’s Be Heard their sexual orientation identified as heterosexual/straight. A small proportion of the group (4%) were gay/lesbian, and 1% were bi/bisexual.
Disability
39% of prisoner respondents said that they considered themselves to have a disability under the Equality Act 2010.
Ethnicity
Prisoner respondents were mainly white Scottish/British. A small proportion (7%) were from a non-white/mixed race background, and a small number stated ‘other’ without providing further information.
Religion
Slightly more than half of the respondents identified as Christian, 8% of whom were Catholic. A third of respondents stated that they had no religion. 11% listed other religions including Islam and Judaism.
2.2 Demographic snapshot of Scottish prisons
In order to place some of the demographic data of the 74 responses in context, there follows a snapshot of the Scottish prison population at the time of survey distribution.[1] Note that not all comparative data was available.
- Age: 64% of individuals experiencing imprisonment were made up of people aged between 24 and 44.
- Gender: women made up 6.5% of individuals experiencing imprisonment.
- Sexual orientation: 2% of individuals experiencing imprisonment self-reported on arrival that they were lesbian, gay, bisexual or other.
- Disability: 10% of individuals experiencing imprisonment self-reported on arrival that they had a disability.
- Ethnicity: 7% of individuals experiencing imprisonment self-reported on arrival as an ethnicity other than ‘White’.
2.3 Related studies
As part of this case study, Let’s Be Heard reviewed a selection of existing academic literature and public reports regarding the experiences of prisoners in Scotland during the pandemic. Much of this literature focuses on the early phases of the pandemic and its immediate impacts. However, this case study benefits from a longer-term perspective, offering a detailed understanding of the ongoing impacts and challenges within the prison system throughout the period the Inquiry is investigating.
One key report referenced throughout this case study is that of Armstrong and Pickering et al., which highlights critical issues such as the implementation of lockdown in prisons, the mental and physical health of prisoners, and the challenges of accessing healthcare services. [2] It also addresses the disruption to rehabilitation programmes, education and family contact due to measures and restrictions. Using similar research methods, this case study both confirms and builds upon these earlier studies, revealing new perspectives from prisoners about their experiences.
Further studies have highlighted the additional impacts of pandemic restrictions on prisoners, including changes to drug use and support,[3] the introduction of mobile phones for prisoners,[4] the experience of custody during lockdowns,[5] and the voices of those affected by these challenges.[6] The two studies conducted by the SPS focused on specific, self-defined areas aimed at gathering feedback on internal COVID-19 related initiatives.[7] The reports were shared by the SPS with Let’s Be Heard, as a part of Let’s Be Heard’s methodology, where pre-existing organisational reports that collate people’s experiences of the pandemic in Scotland can be submitted to Let’s Be Heard.
This Let’s Be Heard case study draws on the above studies throughout the next section to provide further information on the pandemic’s experiences and resulting impact on prisoners and provide a contextualised evidence base.
[1] Scottish Government. Scottish Prison Population Statistics 2023-2024 (Scottish Government Publications – Statistics, 2024).
[2] Sarah Armstrong, Lucy Pickering, Chris Bunn, Oona Brooks-Hay et al. Left Out and Locked Down: Impacts of COVID-19 Lockdown on Marginalised Groups in Scotland: Report of the Scotland in Lockdown Study (University of Glasgow, 2020).
[3] Claire Toomey, Maria Fotopoulou, and Sarah Armstrong. Mapping drug use, interventions and treatment needs in Scottish prisons: a literature review (The Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research, 2022).
[4] Graeme Dickson. Engaging with Individuals in Custody about the Introduction of Mobile Phones and Virtual Visits across the Scottish Prison Estate in Response to Covid-19. (Scottish Prison Service, 2021).
[5] Graeme Dickson. Engaging with Individuals in Custody about the Impacts of COVID-19 on Their Experiences of Custody (Scottish Prison Service, 2021).
[6] Caitlin Gormley, Phillippa Wiseman, and Nughmana Mirza. Scotland In Lockdown: Stories from People Affected by Criminal Justice Control (Issuu, 2022); Matthew Maycock. “Covid-19 has caused a dramatic change to prison life’. Analysing the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the pains of imprisonment in the Scottish Prison Estate,” The British Journal of Criminology 62, no. 1 (2022): 218-233.; Matthew Maycock. "What do times of crisis reveal about the “total” nature of prisons? Analysing the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis within the Scottish prison system." Journal of Criminology 56, no. 2-3 (2023): 234-252.
[7] Dickson, Mobile Phones and Virtual Visits; Dickson, Impacts of COVID-19 on Custody.