Measuring the Quality of Prison Life (MQPL) Surveys 2022-23

In 2022-2023 JHA executed our second IDOC-wide survey of all incarcerated people. More than 8,700 completed surveys from 28 prisons were returned to JHA, representing more than 30% of the static surveyed IDOC population.

This paper-based survey was optional, confidential, and anonymous; people responded by using a postage-paid return envelope sent directly to JHA. JHA used a modified version of the “Measuring the Quality of Prison Life” (MQPL) Individual in Custody Questionnaire, which was developed by a research team at the Prisons Research Centre at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. This survey is used in prisons in other countries, and is also being piloted in prisons in New York and Pennsylvania. JHA has been using the survey’s results to look at our prisons’ “culture” or social environment, and how this affects people. We have also been using these results to inform our prison advocacy work, and comparing/contrasting them with results from NY and Pennsylvania to inform the field of prison oversight overall.

Loyola University’s Center for Criminal Justice worked with JHA to analyze survey responses and create an online dashboard showing MQPL results in a comprehensible visual format. The dashboard allows users to compare institutions across various MQPL dimensions, to focus in on particular issues like staff-resident relationships, and to filter results by demographic and other characteristics.

Survey Results by Facility

Quantitative results are presented by facility. In addition, JHA staff and volunteers transcribed every handwritten comment we received; those reports can also be found below.

Our “Top Issues Reported” publications highlight some of the most common issues raised by facility in response to our MQPL survey question "What are the most negative things about life in this prison?” We selected this question to analyze because it is where most survey respondents chose to report the issues that they were experiencing while incarcerated.

Correctional Staff Survey

JHA also fielded an online Quality of Life survey with correctional staff.