HM Prison

Scottish Prison Service

The Scottish Prison Service is an executive agency of the Scottish Government tasked with managing prisons in Scotland...

 Kilmarnock is a prison

Prison

A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

 in Bowhouse, Hurlford

Hurlford

Hurlford is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland. Including Crookedholm, it has a population of 4,968. Hurlford's former names include Whirlford and Hurdleford. The village was named Whirlford as a result of a ford crossing the River Irvine east of Hurlford Cross, near Shawhill...

 near Kilmarnock

Kilmarnock

Kilmarnock is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 44,734. It is the second largest town in Ayrshire. The River Irvine runs through its eastern section, and the Kilmarnock Water passes through it, giving rise to the name 'Bank Street'...

, East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders on to North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. It is situated 3 miles south-east of Hurlford

Hurlford

Hurlford is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland. Including Crookedholm, it has a population of 4,968. Hurlford's former names include Whirlford and Hurdleford. The village was named Whirlford as a result of a ford crossing the River Irvine east of Hurlford Cross, near Shawhill...

 on the Mauchline

Mauchline

Mauchline is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. In the 2001 census it had a recorded population of 4105. It lies by the Glasgow and South Western Railway line, 8 miles east-southeast of Kilmarnock and 11 miles northeast of Ayr. It is situated on a gentle slope about 1 mile from the River Ayr,...

 Road. Its location means it is locally known as Bowhouse Prison.

The prison was opened 25 March 1999 and is privately run by Serco (formerly known as Premier Prison Services) on behalf of the Scottish Prison Service

Scottish Prison Service

The Scottish Prison Service is an executive agency of the Scottish Government tasked with managing prisons in Scotland...

; the first of its kind in Scotland.

The prison is operated to a contract between Serco and the Scottish Prison Service

Scottish Prison Service

The Scottish Prison Service is an executive agency of the Scottish Government tasked with managing prisons in Scotland...

. This contract has a system of 44 performance measures, ranging from ensuring that prisoner's visitors are not unduly delayed on entrance to checking that appropriate levels of purposeful activities are provided to inmates.

In 2005 the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 program Panorama

Panorama (TV series)

Panorama is a BBC Television current affairs documentary programme, which was first broadcast in 1953, and is the longest-running public affairs television programme in the world. Panorama has been presented by many well known BBC presenters, including Richard Dimbleby, Robin Day, David Dimbleby...

uncovered several failings in the operational running of the prison, resulting in the prison carrying out internal investigations.

The prison, which holds short-term, long-term and remand male adults, currently has 596 inmates.