Substance Misuse Treatment Needs of Minority Prisoner Groups: Women, Young Offenders and Ethnic Minorities

• NCJ Number: 202646
• Author(s): Jo Borrill; Anthony Maden; Anthea Martin; Tim Weaver; Gerry Stimson; Tom Barnes; Rachel Burnett; Sarah Miller; Daniel Briggs; Michael Farrell
• Date Published: 2003
• Length: 8 pages
• Sale Source: Great Britain Home Office
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This document assesses the drug treatment needs of minority inmates.

Abstract

In 2001, the Prison Service assessed the treatment needs of women, male young offenders, and ethnic minorities through a study with three main parts: an interview survey, an assessment of treatment needs, and in-depth qualitative interviews. The study found high levels of drug dependence among the female sample and links between dependence and mental health problems. One of the main factors affecting women with drug problems was the level of unmet demand for treatment services, especially the need for ongoing support after initial assessment and detoxification. There was also the need for longer-lasting and more consistent detoxification services in training prisons as well as local prisons, especially for the combined effects of polydrug and alcohol abuse. Male young inmates, aged 18 to 21, were using a range of drugs, and three-quarters were dependent on at least one of them. Harmful levels of alcohol use also featured prominently among this group. Many had psychological and emotional problems that needed to be addressed in conjunction with their substance abuse. An educational and harm minimization approach in combating the young males’ substance abuse problems, combined with an emphasis on throughcare while in prison and on release, were recommended by the researchers. Crack was the drug most frequently used by the sample of men from ethnic minority groups (80 percent of whom were Black and 20 percent Asian or mixed race). The use of this drug was often combined with harmful levels of alcohol consumption and associated with psychotic or manic experiences. There is a general requirement to address the unmet demand for treatment services for this group. In addition, there is a need to implement a more consistent detoxification practice. There is also a need to increase the focus on polydrug and alcohol use. Rehabilitation services were not necessarily attracting ethnic minority men into treatment, partly due to a lack of ethnic minority practitioners and a perceived lack of cultural understanding from White staff.