The Prisons’ Minister Paul Goggins today welcomed the publication of the results of an independent survey of visitors which was carried out at each of the Northern Ireland prison establishments over the course of five days in November 2008. A total of 316 visitors were interviewed for the survey, which showed high satisfaction levels with visiting arrangements.

Among the key findings are;

• Almost 80% of respondents rated the general visiting arrangements as ‘satisfactory ‘ or ‘very satisfactory’;
• 78.5% described the quality of information received as either ‘good’ or ‘very good’ and;
• 73.1% rated the booking system as ‘good’ or ‘very good’.

Highlighting the vital role that visitors play in the lives of prisoners, the Prisons’ Minister Paul Goggins said:

“We know that maintaining contact with family helps prisoners reduce their risk of reoffending after release and visits by family members are an integral part of successful resettlement. That is why the Northern Ireland Prison Service proactively seeks the views of visitors to our establishments to see what improvements can be made in an effort to maintain family relations at what can be a difficult time.

The survey results show a high level of satisfaction with visiting arrangements, though there is always scope to enhance the service that is being provided. A multi-agency team from the Northern Ireland Prison Service Visitors’ Centre Group will use the findings to develop a plan to tackle those areas that require improvement.

“This work will be underpinned by a new NIPS Family Policy which is nearing completion. It will set out the commitments that prison establishments will give to families when they engage with the Prison Service and will set out minimum standards required of both the Service and the families of prisoners. I expect to be in a position to publish this policy for consultation in the coming months.”


Notes to Editors

1. The full results of the Visitors Survey are available on The Northern
Ireland Prison Service website www.niprisonservice.gov.uk/Publications/NIPS surveys

2. The survey was conducted between 12 and 16 November 2008.
There are some 125,000 visitors to Northern Ireland prison establishments each year.

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