NCJ Number
146565
Date Published
1993
Length
66 pages
Annotation
A study conducted between May 1991 and June 1992 examined how the British probation service dealt with offenders' drug use before implementation of the Criminal Justice Act 1991.
Abstract
A survey of all 55 probation services and case studies in four probation services were used as data. The surveys addressed probation drug programs and relationships with drug agencies, while the case studies consisted of interviews with probation staff covering policy and resources, the prevalence of drug misuse and drug related offending, ways in which drug-using probationers were dealt with, and plans for dealing with drug misuse under the new Act. The findings showed significant variation between probation services in terms of their responses to drug use, the effectiveness of these responses, and the number and range of drug treatment programs available. The two primary ways in which probation services dealt with drug misuse were through running their own drug programs and making referrals to drug agencies. In many cases, these responses were ineffective in terms of stopping or preventing drug use. While drug use among offenders seemed to be common, all probation services found that their ability to deal with drug-related offending was restricted by offenders' reluctance to disclose drug misuse to their probation officers. Many probation services were turning to harm reduction, rather than drug prevention, as a means of dealing with the problem. 7 references and 1 appendix