NCJ Number
209029
Date Published
October 2004
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This overview of drug interventions in the criminal justice system of England and Wales summarizes evidence from early pilot programs that relate to arrest referral and drug treatment and testing orders, with reference to models of delivery.
Abstract
Drug interventions through the criminal justice system offer an effective means of putting offenders who use illegal drugs in touch with appropriate services that can reduce their drug use. Since 1998, a range of criminal-justice-based drug interventions have been introduced or piloted in England and Wales. They have been designed to either facilitate the referral of offenders into drug treatment or deliver treatment within the context of a community or custodial sentence. These interventions have been implemented at key points in the criminal justice system, namely, in police custody, through the courts, on probation, in prison, and after release from custody. After reviewing the features of drug treatment services, this paper describes arrest referral schemes, which are partnership initiatives between the police, local drug services, and Drug Action Teams/Drug and Alcohol Action Teams. These schemes use the point of arrest within custody suites as an opportunity for engaging arrestees in treatment, but they do not preclude prosecution or the provision of due process in case management. The description of arrest referral schemes is followed by an explanation of the features of drug treatment and testing orders. This order consists of a court sentence that requires an offender to undergo treatment for a specific period that can range from 6 months to 3 years; to be tested regularly for drug use; and to attend regular court review hearings to measure progress under the order. Appended models of care and an arrest referral monitoring form