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Government institution · London · United Kingdom

HM Prison Service

In research, HM Prison Service stands highest in Social Sciences (#6,144 of 14,833 worldwide), Psychology (#1,961 of 3,404 worldwide) and Clinical Psychology (#847 of 1,390 worldwide), over all time.

gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-prison-serviceROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#20,484
of 22,385 · #13,289 all time
Rank in United Kingdom
#763
of 862
Research works
673
▲ 7% vs 2018-21
Citations
12k
18.1 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
6.4%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.94×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
21%
world 40%
International
22%
world 18%
HM Prison Service

What is HM Prison Service known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, over all time, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorks
Social SciencesDomain #6,144 of 14,833 7.8%441
PsychologyField #1,961 of 3,404 7.1%175
Clinical PsychologySubfield #847 of 1,390 6.0%141
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #2,655 of 4,066 7.6%148
Social SciencesField #6,267 of 9,330 7.3%219
Health SciencesDomain #11,660 of 16,688 5.7%154

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where HM Prison Service sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which fields of science does HM Prison Service work in?

In 2022-now, 60% of research at HM Prison Service is in Social Sciences, 26% in Health Sciences. Its largest fields are Social Sciences (34%), Psychology (19%), Medicine (15%). It does 2.2× the world's share of Social Sciences.

Social Sciences: 46 fractional works · 60.3% of its workSocial Sciences: 26 fractional works · 33.8% of its workSociology and Political Science: 15 fractional works · 19.0% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 3 fractional works · 4.3% of its workHealth: 2 fractional works · 2.7% of its workDemography: 1 fractional works · 1.8% of its workAnthropology: 1 fractional works · 1.6% of its workLaw: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workSafety Research: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workCultural Studies: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPublic Administration: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workDevelopment: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGeography, Planning and Development: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEducation: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workGender Studies: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workTransportation: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPsychology: 15 fractional works · 19.2% of its workClinical Psychology: 13 fractional works · 16.9% of its workSocial Psychology: 1 fractional works · 1.8% of its workExperimental and Cognitive Psychology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workArts and Humanities: 3 fractional works · 4.5% of its workHistory: 1 fractional works · 1.3% of its workMusic: 1 fractional works · 1.3% of its workHistory and Philosophy of Science: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workConservation: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPhilosophy: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 2 fractional works · 2.0% of its workMarketing: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workStrategy and Management: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workAccounting: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workFinance: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workDecision Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workHealth Sciences: 20 fractional works · 25.5% of its workMedicine: 12 fractional works · 15.4% of its workEpidemiology: 2 fractional works · 2.9% of its workDermatology: 1 fractional works · 1.7% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 1 fractional works · 1.6% of its workHepatology: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workPsychiatry and Mental health: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workPathology and Forensic Medicine: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workSurgery: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workInfectious Diseases: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workEmergency Medicine: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPharmacology: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workNeurology: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workNephrology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPhysiology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEndocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workRheumatology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workRadiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workHealth Professions: 5 fractional works · 6.3% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 3 fractional works · 4.3% of its workPharmacy: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSpeech and Hearing: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workMedical Terminology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workVeterinary: 1 fractional works · 1.7% of its workSmall Animals: 1 fractional works · 1.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workDentistry: 1 fractional works · 1.4% of its workOral Surgery: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workOrthodontics: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workGeneral Dentistry: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPeriodontics: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNursing: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workResearch and Theory: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysical Sciences: 6 fractional works · 7.3% of its workEngineering: 1 fractional works · 1.8% of its workMechanical Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workAerospace Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workAutomotive Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workMathematics: 1 fractional works · 1.4% of its workApplied Mathematics: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGeometry and Topology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMathematical Physics: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workComputer Science: 1 fractional works · 1.2% of its workInformation Systems: 0 fractional works · 0.7% of its workComputer Science Applications: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnvironmental Science: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workEcology: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workStatistical and Nonlinear Physics: 0 fractional works · 0.7% of its workRadiation: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMaterials Science: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workBiomaterials: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workLife Sciences: 5 fractional works · 6.8% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 2 fractional works · 2.5% of its workPlant Science: 1 fractional works · 1.3% of its workAnimal Science and Zoology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workFood Science: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1 fractional works · 1.9% of its workMolecular Biology: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workGenetics: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 1 fractional works · 1.2% of its workToxicology: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPharmacology: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workMicrobiology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workImmunology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workNeuroscience: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workCognitive Neuroscience: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workALL ITS WORKHM Prison Service77fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences7%Physical Sciences7%Health Sciences26%Social Sciences60%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 23 fields, with their numbers
    1. Social Sciences2633.8%
    2. Psychology1519.2%
    3. Arts and Humanities34.5%
    4. Business, Management and Accounting22.0%
    5. Economics, Econometrics and Finance00.6%
    6. Decision Sciences00.2%
    1. Medicine1215.4%
    2. Health Professions56.3%
    3. Veterinary11.7%
    4. Dentistry11.4%
    5. Nursing10.7%
    1. Engineering11.8%
    2. Mathematics11.4%
    3. Computer Science11.2%
    4. Environmental Science11.1%
    5. Physics and Astronomy11.1%
    6. Materials Science00.6%
    7. Earth and Planetary Sciences00.1%
    1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences22.5%
    2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology11.9%
    3. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics11.2%
    4. Immunology and Microbiology00.6%
    5. Neuroscience00.5%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.53× its world share, 2 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.36× its world share, 2 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.63× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.33× its world share, 0 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 3.44× its world share, 1 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Computer Science: 0.16× its world share, 1 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.06× its world share, 0 worksEarth and Planetary …Engineering: 0.12× its world share, 1 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.23× its world share, 1 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.17× its world share, 0 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.20× its world share, 1 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.49× its world share, 1 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 2.81× its world share, 1 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 2.39× its world share, 5 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.80× its world share, 12 worksMedicineNursing: 1.44× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 12.78× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.57× its world share, 4 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.61× its world share, 2 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.26× its world share, 0 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.27× its world share, 0 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 6.30× its world share, 15 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.67× its world share, 26 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Veterinary, 12.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 23 fields, with their numbers
  1. Veterinary12.78×1 works
  2. Psychology6.30×15 works
  3. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics3.44×1 works
  4. Dentistry2.81×1 works
  5. Social Sciences2.67×26 works
  6. Health Professions2.39×5 works
  7. Arts and Humanities1.57×4 works
  8. Nursing1.44×0 works
  9. Mathematics1.20×1 works
  10. Medicine0.80×12 works
  11. Immunology and Microbiology0.63×0 works
  12. Business, Management and Accounting0.61×2 works
  13. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.53×2 works
  14. Physics and Astronomy0.49×1 works
  15. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.36×2 works
  16. Neuroscience0.33×0 works
  17. Economics, Econometrics and Finance0.27×0 works
  18. Decision Sciences0.26×0 works
  19. Environmental Science0.23×1 works
  20. Materials Science0.17×0 works
  21. Computer Science0.16×1 works
  22. Engineering0.12×1 works
  23. Earth and Planetary Sciences0.06×0 works

Who are the top researchers at HM Prison Service?

Ranked on the quality score, David Thornton, Alan Leonard and James B. Thomson lead among researchers whose main affiliation is HM Prison Service.

  1. 1 David Thornton United Kingdom · #294,613 worldwide 7.7k citations · 126 works
  2. 2 Alan Leonard United Kingdom · #1,199,574 worldwide 1.7k citations · 20 works
  3. 3 James B. Thomson United Kingdom · #1,436,461 worldwide 562 citations · 41 works
  4. 4 Andrew Fraser United Kingdom · #2,111,240 worldwide 743 citations · 57 works
  5. 5 Caroline Friendship United Kingdom · #2,375,538 worldwide 1.7k citations · 34 works
  6. 6 David T. Nicolson United Kingdom · #2,423,176 worldwide 408 citations · 56 works
  7. 7 Rosie Travers United Kingdom · #2,465,205 worldwide 673 citations · 15 works
  8. 8 Ian D. Suttie United Kingdom · #2,554,818 worldwide 62 citations · 39 works
  9. 9 Stephen D. Webster United Kingdom · #2,771,021 worldwide 1.3k citations · 47 works
  10. 10 W. Norwood East United Kingdom · #2,809,519 worldwide 242 citations · 88 works
All ranked researchers at HM Prison Service

What are the most cited papers from HM Prison Service?

The most cited paper from HM Prison Service is "Improving risk assessments for sex offenders: A comparison of three actuarial scales." (R. Karl Hanson, David J. Thornton, 2000), with 1,068 citations. Next come "Psychopathy and the predictive validity of the PCL-R: an international perspective" (639) and "The psychopathic individual: A lack of responsiveness to distress cues?" (614).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Improving risk assessments for sex offenders: A comparison of three actuarial scales. R. Karl Hanson, David J. Thornton · Law and Human Behavior Feb 2000 1,068
2 Psychopathy and the predictive validity of the PCL-R: an international perspective Robert D. Hare, Danny Clark, Martin Grann et al. · Behavioral Sciences & the Law 2000 639
3 The psychopathic individual: A lack of responsiveness to distress cues? James Blair, Lawrence F. Jones, Fiona Clark et al. · Psychophysiology Mar 1997 614
4 Will African Agriculture Survive Climate Change? Pradeep Kurukulasuriya et al. · The World Bank Economic Review Open access 2006 516
5 Constructing and Testing a Framework for Dynamic Risk Assessment David Thornton · Sexual Abuse Apr 2002 470
All 60 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at HM Prison Service?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Mental Health, Criminal Justice, Social Inequality, Racial Disparities, Mass Incarceration, Prison System, Criminal Behavior and Risk Assessment.

▲ more of its work than of the world's◆ about the world's share▼ less than the world's

Size is fractional works in 2022-now in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Mental Health9▲ 8.6×23 topics
  2. Epidemiology7▲ 2.2×32 topics
  3. Criminal Justice6▲ 36×2 topics
  4. Social Inequality6▲ 30×2 topics
  5. Racial Disparities6▲ 147×2 topics
  6. Mass Incarceration6▲ 263×1 topic
  7. Prison System6▲ 139×1 topic
  8. Criminal Behavior5▲ 154×2 topics
  9. Risk Assessment5▲ 9.3×3 topics
  10. Emotion Recognition4▲ 28×3 topics
  11. Mental Disorders4▲ 47×2 topics
  12. Psychopathy4▲ 157×1 topic
  13. Violent Recidivism4▲ 310×1 topic
  14. Public Health4▲ 3.3×10 topics
  15. Risk Factors3▲ 4.0×8 topics
  16. Ethical Considerations3▲ 12×5 topics
  17. Human Rights3▲ 4.1×7 topics
  18. Resilience3▲ 8.4×6 topics
  19. Psychiatric Disorders2▲ 24×3 topics
  20. Childhood Trauma2▲ 46×2 topics
  21. Social Support2▲ 5.2×5 topics
  22. Substance Abuse2▲ 43×2 topics
  23. Adolescents2▲ 7.3×3 topics
  24. Adverse Experiences2▲ 59×1 topic
  25. Authoritarianism2▲ 27×2 topics
  26. Coping Strategies2▲ 9.0×2 topics
  27. Developmental Trajectories2▲ 20×3 topics
  28. Neurobiological Consequences2▲ 59×1 topic
  29. Prevention Strategies2▲ 23×3 topics
  30. Psychological Impact2▲ 7.5×7 topics
  31. Medical Education2▲ 8.1×3 topics
  32. Mental Illness2▲ 33×2 topics
  33. Suicidal Behavior2▲ 55×1 topic
  34. Suicide2▲ 44×1 topic
  35. Homelessness2▲ 54×1 topic
  36. Housing First2▲ 54×1 topic
  37. Professionalism2▲ 13×5 topics
  38. Adversity2▲ 29×1 topic
  39. Aggression2▲ 36×2 topics
  40. Psychological Resilience2▲ 22×1 topic

Which research topics does HM Prison Service publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis, Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending, Child Abuse and Trauma and Suicide and Self-Harm Studies.

Criminal Justice and Cor…6Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis: 6 fractional worksPsychopathy, Forensic Ps…4Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending: 4 fractional worksChild Abuse and Trauma2Child Abuse and Trauma: 2 fractional worksSuicide and Self-Harm Studies: 2 fractional worksHomelessness and Social Issues: 2 fractional worksResilience and Mental He…2Resilience and Mental Health: 2 fractional worksEastern European Communism and Reforms: 1 fractional worksHealthcare Decision-Making and Restraints: 1 fractional worksWorkplace Violence and Bullying: 1 fractional worksCrime Patterns and Interventions: 1 fractional works
Sociology and Political ScienceClinical PsychologyGeneral Health Professions

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis Sociology and Political Science 6 works
  2. 2 Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending Clinical Psychology 4 works
  3. 3 Child Abuse and Trauma Clinical Psychology 2 works
  4. 4 Suicide and Self-Harm Studies Clinical Psychology 2 works
  5. 5 Homelessness and Social Issues General Health Professions 2 works
  6. 6 Resilience and Mental Health Clinical Psychology 2 works
  7. 7 Eastern European Communism and Reforms Sociology and Political Science 1 works
  8. 8 Healthcare Decision-Making and Restraints Clinical Psychology 1 works
  9. 9 Workplace Violence and Bullying Sociology and Political Science 1 works
  10. 10 Crime Patterns and Interventions Sociology and Political Science 1 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world's own shares: the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available21.4%not open78.6%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors21.9%domestic only78.1%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has HM Prison Service's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 7% higher than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is HM Prison Service as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.00031% in 2024.

still counting0.0020%0.0040%HM Prison Service0.00039% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of HM Prison Service over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting10%20%all institutions10.0% in 2025HM Prison Service6.7% in 202520102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 15.6% in 2003.

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HM Prison Service on Science Explorer

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