A GUIDE TO RESEARCHING PRISONERS AND PRISON STAFF

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Prison records are often held by local archives or by the prison itself, but The National Archives also has a number of important collections. This guide describes what you need to know before you start, where records are held, what can be found online (both externally and via TNA’s catalogue at discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk), and how to find material in other UK repositories. As noted in the guide, it’s important to remember that prisoners were not always imprisoned “near their home or where the offence was committed”, often being moved between prisons during the course of a sentence. TNA’s YouTube channel also has webinars related to prisons and criminals.