NCJ Number
174471
Journal
Howard Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 36 Issue: 1 Dated: February 1997 Pages: 28-41
Date Published
1997
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Interviews and questionnaires collected information on the perceptions of inmates and staff regarding drug abuse in a small local British prison.
Abstract
A self-report questionnaire gathered information from 134 inmates and 199 probationers. The interviews and questionnaires used open-ended questions. Both inmates and staff made a significant distinction between more and less harmful types of drugs rather than between drugs that were legal and those that were illegal. Thus, marijuana and tranquilizers were grouped together as useful and fairly harmless drugs, whereas injectable and other drugs were regarded as causing serious problems for individuals and the institution as a whole. Amphetamines and perhaps cocaine occupied a middle ground, in which participants expressed less fear of addiction but concern that inmates would share infected needles and syringes. Thus, participants recommended the use of some drugs and treatment for use of other drugs. These attitudes may result from many inmates' experience with drugs and all inmates' and staff members' direct knowledge of prison wings where drug abuse was common. Findings suggested that the drug policies of the Prison Service of England and Wales are hindered by the attitude that all drug use in prison is undifferentiated. Note and 31 references