NCJ Number
166167
Date Published
1994
Length
136 pages
Annotation
This report presents the findings of an evaluation of the Saughton Drug Reduction Programme (DRP), which was initiated in Edinburgh Prison (Scotland) in March 1993 to address the needs of drug-addicted inmates both while in prison and after release.
Abstract
The DRP is designed to provide support for inmates who are experiencing drug withdrawals and also to provide them with practical advice on drug-free lifestyles and harm minimization both during their prison sentence and upon re-entry to the community. The program offers a range of education and counseling options that involve input from a multidisciplinary team of prison staff and outside agency representatives. In the evaluation, inmates were recruited for a two-group design. The study group consisted of those inmates who had either completed the DRP or completed at least 21 days. The control group consisted of inmates who either did not begin the DRP or who began it but did not complete 21 days. There were 30 subjects in each group. In addition to data collected through interviews with participants, data were also collected from drug treatment unit records (assessments and completion rates) and prison operations records (finds of forbidden articles, closed visits records). When compared to the matched control group, program clients reported a lower level of drug use on a range of different measures; this difference was maintained throughout their current sentence. The impact of the DRP on clients' drug-using behavior in prison provides an argument for making the program an established part of drug service provision within Saughton. The extent to which the DRP will have a similar impact on clients' drug use after release remains to be seen. The second part of this evaluation, due to be completed in May 1995, will show to what extent the impact of the DRP will extend to drug use in the community. 63 references