Drug and crime cycle: Evaluating traditional methods versus diversion strategies for drug-related offences

Alternatives to prison for drug offenders in Belgium during the past decade

OBJECTIVE

Imprisonment has a more pronounced criminogenic effect on drug offenders than on other types of offenders. Additionally, little research has been conducted on the practical application of drug-related alternatives to prison. Therefore, this study describes drug-related alternatives to prison in Belgium over a ten years' period since 2005.

METHODS

The applied drug-related alternatives to prison ('probation', 'conditional release', 'mediation in criminal cases', 'community service' and 'electronic monitoring') were subject to a secondary data analysis of the database of the Houses of Justice.

RESULTS

Men, the age group of 16-24 years old and Belgians are most sentenced to alternatives to prison. Nevertheless, 38% of women are guided towards 'probation' while 8% is 'mediated in criminal cases' compared to 30% and 5% of males respectively (p < .001). 26% of non-Belgians are involved in 'conditional release' and 'electronic monitoring' compared to 22% and 16% among Belgians (p < .001) respectively. With regards to age, 21% of the offenders older than 24 years are involved in 'electronic monitoring' compared to 6% among the offenders younger than 25 years (p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

The results highlight differences in punishment judgments by age, gender and nationality that continues to be indicative for perceived threat, danger and culpability of the offenders.

The Magistrates Early Referral Into Treatment (MERIT) Pilot Program: Court Outcomes and Recidivism

Diversion programs for drug offenders have proliferated in the last decade in the belief that treatment of underlying drug use will decrease an individual's criminal activity. The NSW Magistrates Early Referral Into Treatment (MERIT) program diverts adult offenders with significant drug problems, on bail, from the court to a 3-month intensive drug treatment program. This article reports on the criminal justice outcomes of the Lismore MERIT Pilot Program. Findings indicate that participants who completed the program were significantly less likely to reoffend, took longer to reoffend and received less severe sentences than those who did not complete the program. The reduction in reoffending is significantly associated with program completion even when other factors associated with recidivism are controlled for, including previous incarceration. Overall these findings contribute to the growing literature indicating that providing treatment for offenders with illicit drug problems can be an effective crime reduction strategy.

Measuring collaboration and integration activities in criminal justice and substance abuse treatment agencies

Individuals with substance abuse problems who are involved in the criminal justice system frequently need community-based drug and alcohol abuse treatment and other services. To reduce the risk of relapse to illicit drugs and criminal recidivism, criminal justice agencies may need to establish collaborations with substance abuse treatment and other community-based service providers. Although there are many variations of interorganizational relationships, the nature of these interagency collaborations among justice agencies and treatment providers has received little systematic study. As a first step,we present an instrument to measure interagency collaboration and integration activities using items in the National Criminal Justice Treatment Practices Surveys conducted as part of the Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies(CJ-DATS). Collaboration and integration activities related to drug-involved offenders were examined between substance abuse treatment providers, correctional agencies, and the judiciary. The measurement scale reliably identified two levels of collaboration: less structured, informal networking and coordination and more structured and formalized levels of cooperation and collaboration. An illustration of the use of the systems integration tool is presented.

The efficacy of diversion and aftercare strategies for adult drug-involved offenders: a summary and methodological review of the outcome literature

Diversion strategies aim to redirect drug-involved offenders away from the criminal justice system and into treatment. Despite the interest in diversionary practices, the emergence of an empirical evaluation literature has been slow. A methodological review of published outcome studies was conducted to investigate the current strength of evidence for the efficacy of diversion and aftercare practices for criminal offenders. Twenty outcome studies were identified for review: 19 on diversion and one on aftercare. The vast majority of studies were non-randomised evaluations, reflecting the paucity of rigorous evaluation work in this area. Although most studies were prospective, very few reported on long-term outcomes following treatment. Detail was lacking with regard to basic study characteristics, such as eligibility criteria and outcomes. Despite these methodological shortcomings, results provide some tentative evidence that diversion and aftercare programmes could be effective. Best practice elements of diversion and aftercare programmes are identified and feasible strategies to improve the methodological quality of future evaluations are considered.

Drug use and mental health problems among prison inmates--results from a nation-wide prison population study

Prisons all over the western world are known to be inhabited by a biased sample of the population. More information is needed on how problems in diverse areas interact. The present study investigated how general welfare deficiencies, drug use and mental health problems were related in a representative prison population. Data stem from a level-of-living survey among a nationwide representative sample of Norwegian prison inmates. The sample was drawn randomly from the official register of prison inmates. Data were collected through structured personal interviews (computer assisted). Analyses presented in this paper are based on the male part of the sample (n=225). Only 24% of male prisoners were affected by neither drug use problems nor mental health problems. Investigating the relationship between variables indicated an increasing accumulation of childhood stressors and general welfare deficiencies with increasing drug use and mental health problems. As health problems are intertwined with more general social problems, health promotion among prison inmates is clearly a multidisciplinary task, requiring close collaboration between different service providers and systems of care.

Evidence-based policy or policy-based evidence? The role of evidence in the development and implementation of the Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative

ISSUES

Evidence-based policy is promoted as the ideal in drug policy, yet public policy theorists suggest that policy-based evidence may be a more fitting analogy, where evidence is used selectively to support a predetermined policy direction. The following paper assesses the resonance of this notion to the development of the Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative (IDDI), an apparently pragmatic reform adopted in Australia in 1999 through the Federal Coalition 'Tough on Drugs' strategy. It utilises interviews with key informants from the Australian drug policy arena conducted in 2005 to assess the role of evidence in the design and implementation of the IDDI.

KEY FINDINGS

The current paper shows that while policy-makers were generally supportive of the IDDI and viewed drug diversion as a more pragmatic response to drug users, they contend that implementation has suffered through a selective and variable emphasis upon evidence. Most notably, the IDDI is not premised upon best-practice objectives of reducing harm from drug use, but instead on 'Tough on Drugs' objectives of reducing drug use and crime.

IMPLICATIONS

This paper contends that policy-based evidence may facilitate the adoption of pragmatic reforms, but reduce the capacity for effective reform. It therefore has both functional and dysfunctional elements. The paper concludes that greater attention is needed to understanding how to mesh political and pragmatic objectives, and hence to maximise the benefits from policy-based evidence.

Cannabis dependence and mental health perception amongst people diverted by police after arrest for cannabis-related offending behaviour in Australia

BACKGROUND

Use of cannabis and other mind-altering drugs may be associated with violence or other offending behaviours. In many countries mere possession of the drug may be sufficient to lead to a criminal conviction and, therefore, a criminal record. Recent legal and policy reforms in Australia have led to development of cannabis diversion programmes.

OBJECTIVE

To describe substance misuse patterns and health perception in a consecutive series of young people in Queensland who were spared a criminal record because of a cannabis diversion scheme.

METHOD

Between 9 July 2001 and 24 August 2004, 640 men and 187 women were diverted through the Queensland Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative (QIDDI) for treatment at a hospital alcohol and drug service. In this cross-sectional study of their drug use history, participants also completed the Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS) for cannabis and the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28).

RESULTS

Almost 60% of participants were cannabis dependent (as determined by the SDS). Polysubstance use was also more prevalent amongst dependent participants. Self-reported health (GHQ-28) was poorer than expected from Australian normative data, and worse if participants were cannabis dependent. Applying the GHQ-28 threshold for psychiatric case identification (caseness), cannabis dependent participants had significantly higher level of caseness across all subscales of somatic concerns, anxiety, social dysfunction and depression. Dependent women registered the highest proportion of psychopathology, particularly anxiety and social dysfunction.

CONCLUSIONS

Young cannabis users in Queensland who come into contact with the police are more likely than not to be dependent on the drug. Their high levels of psychopathology suggest that they are better placed in healthcare rather than the criminal justice system, and that appropriately responsive mental healthcare programmes are needed.