REPORTS AND FINDINGS
Reports are only available as downloads and cannot be ordered in hard copy. The views and conclusions of reports commissioned by UKDPC are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Commission.
DRUGS & ALCOHOL TODAY 2008 (London and Glasgow)
The UKDPC facilitated a series of seminars for Drugs & Alcohol Today in London, and is grateful to all of the speakers who contributed. Some of their PowerPoint presentations are available below. The Glasgow event is on 10 June.
Offender seminar
- Tim McSweeney (ICPR, King's College, London): The treatment and supervision of drug-dependent offenders. Sarah Mann (NOMS, Ministry of Justice): The problem drug-using offender.
- Bob Grove (Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health): Staying in or returning to work. What works for people with mental health problems?
- Jo Deakin (CJRU, University of Manchester): (Ex-) offenders and employment. Problems and Possibilities.
- Russell Johnson (Turning Point): Getting problem drug users (back) into employment.
REDUCING DRUG USE, REDUCING REOFFENDING - MARCH 2008
Are programmes for problem drug-using offenders in the UK supported by the evidence?
Summary of report findings:
- The principle of using CJS-based interventions to encourage engagement with treatment is supported by the evidence.
- Following a period of expansion and a focus on quantity, attention should now focus on quality.
- "Net-widening" to include additional groups of drug-using offenders in CJS‑based interventions may have negative consequences.
- Community punishments are likely to be more appropriate than imprisonment for most problem drug-using offenders.
- Prison drug services frequently fall short of even minimum standards.
- Given the sizeable investment in CJS interventions for drug-dependent offenders, we know remarkably little about what works and for whom.
drug courts; community sentences such as DTTOs and DRRs; prison-based therapeutic communities; opioid detoxification and methadone maintenance within prisons and the community; and the RAPt 12-step abstinence-based programme.
There are no evaluations of the effectiveness of:
CARAT interventions; drug-free wings; programmes based on cognitive behavioural therapy, such as short-duration programmes and ASRO (Addressing Substance Related Offending) programmes; conditional cautions; diversion from prosecution schemes; and Intervention Orders.
There is mixed evidence for:
Criminal Justice Integrated Teams; Restrictions on Bail; and the added value of drug testing as part of a community order.
Reducing Drug Use, Reducing Reoffending (summary) [PDF 116KB] Reducing Drug Use, Reducing Reoffending (full report) [PDF 532KB] BACKGROUND PAPERS TO INFORM 'REDUCING DRUG USE, REDUCING REOFFENDING':
To help inform our report we commissioned the Institute for Criminal Policy Research (ICPR) at King’s College London to review the international evidence and their peer-reviewed report is available below. We also consulted with a range of stakeholders including policymakers, practitioners and service users and a summary of their feedback has been compiled into a short paper.
A review of the evidence by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research [PDF 560KB] Consultations with key stakeholders [PDF 125KB]SUBMISSION TO THE ADVISORY COUNCIL ON THE MISUSE OF DRUGS (ACMD) CANNABIS CLASSIFICATION REVIEW -JANUARY 2008
This submission considers the most recent and relevant evidence to help inform the ACMD's 2008 cannabis classification review. It concludes that there is no compelling evidence that would require the Advisory Council to change its 2006 recommendation to keep cannabis classified as Class C.
Submission to ACMD cannabis classification review [PDF 154KB]RESPONSE TO THE UK GOVERNMENT'S DRUG STRATEGY CONSULTATION PAPER - OCTOBER 2007
In our response we highlight the critically underdeveloped knowledge base and make 9 key recommendations, including a dedicated 'pillar' within the new strategy to provide a framework for regular and independent evaluation of the drug strategy.
Response to UK government's drug strategy consultation [PDF 272KB]AN ANALYSIS OF UK DRUG POLICY - APRIL 2007
Summary of report findings:
- Britain has an unusually severe drug problem compared with its European neighbours - it has the highest prevalence rates of problem drug use (although use appears to have broadly stabilised), rates which are double those found across Europe.
- However the international evidence suggests that drug policy appears to have very limited impact on the overall level of drug use. The authors argue that this is more influenced by wider social, economic and cultural factors.
- The government has successfully increased the number of dependent drug users entering treatment. Research suggests that this will have led to substantial reductions in drug use, crime and health problems at the individual level.
- Where drug policy makes its most valuable contribution is in reducing the damage and harms to individuals and communities which result from problem drug use. Here UK policy has scored some significant successes, including a level of HIV among injecting drug users lower than in most of Europe. However, there is now emerging evidence which indicates that this area of policy could benefit from re-examination and reinvigoration.
- General drug education and prevention efforts in schools and through campaigns appear to make little difference to risk behaviour among the young.
- We know very little about the effectiveness and impact of most enforcement efforts either in reducing supply or demand.
- There is little transparency in the allocation of resources although it is clear that the lion's share goes to enforcement.
- The UK invests very little in independent evaluation of the impact of drug policies (especially enforcement). Unsurprisingly, therefore, the evidence base in the UK is remarkably underdeveloped.
An Analysis of UK Drug Policy (executive summary) [PDF 93KB] An Analysis of UK Drug Policy (full report) [PDF 1.6MB]
