HM Prison Kilmarnock

HMP Kilmarnock

Location	Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire
Status	Operational
Capacity	500
Population	493[1] (as of October 2021)
Opened	1999
Managed by	Scottish Prison Service
Governor	Craig Thomson

HM Prison Kilmarnock is a prison in Bowhouse, Hurlford near Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland. It is situated 3 miles (5 km) south-east of Hurlford on the Mauchline Road. Its location means it is locally known as Bowhouse Prison.

The prison was opened 25 March 1999 by Premier Prison Services and was privately run by Serco (who acquired Premier in 2002^[2]) until the expiry of their contract in March 2024 at which point the Scottish Prison Service took over direct management of the prison.^[3]

In 2005 the BBC program Panorama uncovered several failings in the operational running of the prison, resulting in the prison carrying out internal investigations.

The prison has a design capacity of 500 places and holds short-term, long-term and remand male adults.^[4]

Aerial view of HMP Kilmarnock in 2022

References

1. His Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland (October–November 2021). HMP KILMARNOCK FULL INSPECTION (PDF) (Report).
2. Moore, Malcolm (5 June 2002). "Serco locks on to prisons manager". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
3. Dunn, Ross (19 March 2024). "HMP Kilmarnock goes public after being taken over by Scottish Prison Service". Daily Record. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
4. "HMP Kilmarnock". www.sps.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 March 2024.

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