Addiction crackdown sees huge rise in prisoners getting clean
A doubling of drug-free wings in jails is helping thousands of prisoners to “break the cycle of addiction and reoffending”, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has said.
New Incentivised Substance Free Living Units are now up and running in 45 prisons across England and Wales – getting addicts off illicit drugs and reducing their reliance on synthetic opiates such as methadone.
Figures show around half of prisoners are addicted to drugs, says the MoJ, while crack and heroin addicts account for two-thirds of shoplifting offences and half of burglaries.
“Yet offenders who are supported to get off drugs for good are 19 percentage points less likely to slip back into a life of crime,” said the MoJ.
“The new wings will make sure prisons are places where criminals get – and stay – clean while they pay their debt to society, instead of languishing on drug substitutes like methadone, which can hinder their rehabilitation.”
Alongside tough new security, including X-ray body scanners, the Government says the units form a cornerstone of its strategy to “break the cycle of addiction and reoffending, which costs the tax-payer £19 billion a year”.
It says up to 100 special blocks in prisons will be in place by 2025, alongside abstinence-based units and tougher security to “clean up prisons and cut crime”.
Deputy Prime Minister, Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor, Dominic Raab, said: “We are clamping down on drugs behind bars with tough new security, but we know reducing supply is not enough to break the cycle of addiction and offending.
“Our new drug-free units and drug recovery wings will help prisoners tackle their addictions, including to opiate substitutes like methadone, in turn cutting their risk of reoffending and creating safer streets.”
The Government is also investing in up to 18 drug recovery wings where prisoners can go through six months of intensive abstinence-based treatment to break their reliance on methadone as well as dangerous substances.
On the new incentivised units, offenders will tackle their addictions through substance misuse courses and regular drug testing
“In exchange, prisoners who are making progress towards getting clean receive extra time out of cell for education and work opportunities and, once they have turned their back on drugs for good, including substitutes like methadone, the prospect of being transferred to a drug recovery wing for six months of intensive, fully abstinence-based treatment,” said the MoJ.