Peer research into prisoners’ experience of Covid.

During 2021, User Voice and Queen’s University Belfast have been conducting one of the largest studies of prisoner experience during COVID, speaking with around 2,000 men and women in ten prisons across England, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

The project will provide the first systematic overview of the impact of COVID restrictions in prisons across England, based solely on the experiences of prisoners.

Based on the user-led, democratic and independent way we work, our research will show that the reality of what men and women in prison have experienced during COVID lockdowns is very far removed from the way it’s been reported. While a reduction in violence and self-harm has been reported, along with the low number of prisoner deaths, we know from speaking directly with residents that mental health and wellbeing have suffered dramatically from the impact of extended lockdown periods – lack of association with other residents, reduced family interactions, restrictions on exercise and reduction on rehabilitation programmes are all contributing factors in the deterioration of mental health behind the door.

This unique peer research is led by Mark Johnson, Founder/CEO of User Voice, and Professor Shadd Maruna, Professor of Criminology at Queen’s University, and over 60 Peer Researchers (men and women in prison). They have completed accredited training in research methods and been involved in every aspect of the project, from design to conducting the research.

This radical approach to research in partnership with, not on, prisoners, will enable them to develop their own analysis of prison conditions and solutions for change.

The project will answer key questions. How have prisoners coped during the pandemic? Has there really been a reduction in violence and self-harm? Safety in Custody statistics released in October last year show that there were over 14,000 self-harm incidents between April-June 2021, an increase of 16% on the previous quarter, so why are we hearing from the sector that there has been a reduction? What drugs are prisoners relying on to cope during lockdown and what has been the mental health fallout? We will reveal what prisons have done to help or hinder recovery.

Importantly, User Voice and Queen’s University Belfast are working with individual prisons to help them learn from the issues identified and implement some of the solutions, and with the Prison Service to contribute to current prison recovery planning and the design of future prison regime.

Most of the peer research has been completed the results to be shared through a range of means in the coming months – two years since the pandemic began.

As we live through the ‘Plan B’ response to the Omicron variant outbreak, this work is more timely than ever, as prisons work to prevent the spread of this variant within prison populations and the situation continues to develop.