The purpose of this thesis was to examine the prison visitor activity of the Finnish Red Cross and find out how and where it is implemented. The aim was to find out why prison visitors started this kind of volunteer work and what keeps them motivated to continue this activity. Another aim was to examine prison visitors’ experiences of training and support provided by the Finnish Red Cross and the collaboration with Finnish Red Cross and prison.

For future purposes, the prison visitors were inquired what they think impedes the progress of this volunteer activity and how it could be developed. There is no prior research of this topic. The prison visitor activity was examined in the theoretical frame of reference of volunteer work. Information about the Criminal Sanctions Agency and research data on prisoners are also discussed in order to describe the environment and target group of the voluntary prison visitors.

The inquiry was carried out as a structured electronic questionnaire, sent to all 53 prison visitors. The received 26 responses were analyzed. According to the respondents, the main reason for becoming a prison visitor was a wish to learn new things. It was also the main reason for continuing the volunteer work. The prison visitors have a very strong feeling of togetherness and they were satisfied with the collaboration with the Finnish Red Cross and prison. However, they wished for more meetings with the prison staff and more support and training from the Finnish Red Cross.

Bringing forward the viewpoint of prison visitors is important experiential information which enables development of this activity. Volunteer work with its many possibilities is the cornerstone of the Finnish Red Cross and for the Criminal Sanctions Agency it is a remarkable possibility to develop their activities. According to this thesis, volunteer work in prison is deemed interesting, which provides a good ground for continuing and developing the prison visitor activity of the Finnish Red Cross.