NCJ Number
160643
Date Published
1994
Length
4 pages
Annotation
As part of their rehabilitation, many inmates are ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings; this practice is ineffective and may be a violation of prisoners' civil rights; prisons should offer a variety of treatment options for alcoholic inmates.
Abstract
The courts, parole boards, and Board of Prison Terms often require AA and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) for inmates being considered for release from custody or parole. Thus, AA and NA participation mandated by judges becomes part of an inmate's or parolee's sentence. The law is thus used to make people participate in an AA or NA program, despite the fact that 50 percent of AA's new members in the community quit within 3 months, and 75 percent quit by 1 year. Although there are many reasons why these programs fail, one significant cause of failure is that many addicts do not believe in God or a higher power. Such a belief in God is a central concept in the AA 12-step recovery program. Not only are AA and NA irrelevant to people who do not share the proper belief system, it is likely illegal to force a nonbeliever to attend such religious indoctrination. A variety of addiction services for inmates with diverse needs and perspectives are needed in prisons. A new program developed by Jack Trimpey entitled Rational Recovery is based on nonreligious, humanist ideas that could be of great use in prison as one component of a variety of addiction services.