NCJ Number
67308
Journal
Monatsschrift fuer Kriminologie und Strafrechtsreform Volume: 62 Issue: 4 Dated: (AUGUST 1979) Pages: 218-227
Date Published
1979
Length
10 pages
Annotation
THE WEST GERMAN DRUG SCENE AND THE DRUG-CRIME RELATIONSHIP, THE PROBLEMS OF ADDICTS IN CORRECTIONS INSTITUTIONS, AND A MODEL FOR DRUG THERAPY DURING IMPRISONMENT ARE DESCRIBED.
Abstract
DRUG USE, WHICH STARTED AS A LARGELY INTELLECTUAL MOVEMENT IN THE LATE SIXTIES, HAS SINCE BECOME WIDESPREAD, AND THE HARD-CORE DRUG ADDICT WITH EXPENSIVE HEROIN AS HIS STAPLE HAS BECOME THE RULE. EXPENSE TO SOCIETY HAS GROWN AS A RESULT OF INCREASES IN DRUG-RELATED CRIMES AND IN THE NUMBER OF SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT CASES IN REGIONAL HOSPITALS. FORMERLY, DRUG ABUSERS WERE USUALLY MIDDLE-CLASS CITIZENS OVERUSING DOCTORS' PRESCRIPTIONS, AND ALCOHOLICS WERE MOST LIKELY TO BECOME INVOLVED IN CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES. THE CURRENT DRUG WAVE HAS ESTABLISHED A SUBCULTURE IN WHICH DRUG COMBINATIONS ARE POPULAR AND A CONNECTION EXISTS BETWEEN ADDICTION AND CRIME. IN PRISONS, WHERE UNSTABLE, DEVELOPMENTALLY DISTURBED YOUNG PEOPLE MUST INTERACT IN A CONFINED SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT, BLACK MARKETEERING FLOURISHES; ABUSERS BECOME INALTERABLY ADDICTED AND INTRODUCE OTHER YOUTHS TO DRUGS. BECAUSE OF THE FREQUENT COINCIDENCE OF ADDICTION WITH CRIME, CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES HAVE BECOME THE LOGICAL PLACE FOR THE LONG-TERM TREATMENT OF THERAPEUTICALLY UNMOTIVATED DRUG ABUSERS. DRUG TREATMENT PROGRAMS IN CORRECTIONAL INTITUTIONS SHOULD PROVIDE TREATMENT ONLY TO CONVICTED ADDICTS, PROTECT ADDICTS FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD, STIMULATE MOTIVATION FOR FUTURE ABSTINENCE OUTSIDE PRISON, AND DEVELOP A SYSTEM OF REWARDS FOR POSTIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS. ADDICTS SHOULD BE SEPARATED FROM OTHER CONVICTS TO REDUCE CONTAGION AND THE DANGER OF FIXING CRIMINAL CHARACTERISTICS ON INMATES HELD PRIMARILY FOR DRUG OFFENSES. STAGES OF THE TREATMENT MODEL OUTLINED INCLUDE ADMISSION (DIAGNOSIS AND TESTING), ESTABLISHMENT OF A TREATMENT PLAN, ENCOURAGMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF MOTIVATION, AND TREATMENT AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION. PASSAGE FROM ONE STAGE TO THE NEXT SHOULD BE ON A STRICTLY INDIVIDUAL BASIS, AND AN ISOLATION PHASE FOR DIFFICULT CASES SHOULD BE BUILT INTO THE SYSTEM. WORKING PRINCIPLES ARE SEPARATION OF ADDICTED CONVICTS FROM OTHER INMATES, PAROLE WITH STRICT THERAPY WHENEVER POSSIBLE, SOCIAL THERAPY IN LIVING GROUPS, ADMINISTRATIVE AUTONOMY OF ADDICT FACILITIES WITHIN THE CORRECTIONS SYSTEM, AND INSTITUTIONAL ORIENTATION TO THE NATURE OF THE GROUP RATER THAN TO CHRONOLOGICAL AGE. A BIBLIOGRAPHY IS SUPPLIED. --IN GERMAN. (KMD)