Drunk and Dangerous: A Randomised Controlled Trial of Alcohol Brief Intervention For Violent Offenders

• NCJ Number: 223584
• Journal: Journal of Experimental Criminology Volume: 4 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2008 Pages: 1-19
• Author(s): Kerrianne Watt; Jonathan Shepherd; Robert Newcombe
• Date Published: March 2008
• Length: 19 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This controlled trial study assessed the effectiveness of an alcohol brief intervention administered to violent offender in a judicial setting, and hypothesized that a brief alcohol intervention would reduce violent offending, alcohol misuse, and assault-related and unintentional injury.

Abstract

The results demonstrate that a standard alcohol brief intervention administered immediately after sentencing in a Magistrates’ court for a violent offense was not effective in reducing alcohol consumption or reoffending in the proceeding 12 months. However, it appears that the intervention may have been effective in reducing vulnerability to injury in offenders, and also improved readiness to reduce alcohol consumption in the first 3 months, suggesting that supplementation of alcohol brief intervention in the first 3 months after sentencing should be investigated, as should administration of the intervention at some other time during the first 3 months after sentencing. The results also indicate that both sentencing and screening for alcohol misuse may in themselves constitute effective interventions. Alcohol-related violence is currently a major problem, high on the agenda of many governments. Brief interventions have resulted in alcohol reduction among problem drinkers across health care settings and sociocultural groups. However, despite close links between alcohol and violence and disorder, no research evaluating the effectiveness of brief alcohol interventions in offenders or with the violent alcohol abuser in a criminal justice setting has been carried out. To assess the effectiveness of an alcohol brief intervention administered to violent offenders in a judicial (Magistrates’ court) setting, a randomized controlled trial was conducted. Participants of the trial consisted of 269 males aged 16-35 years residing in the United Kingdom and who had been sentenced for a violent offense committed while intoxicated with alcohol. Tables, figures, references