A profile of those that use the CARAT drug service in prisons
| Date | 01 June 2006 |
| Published date | 01 June 2006 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455050605300210 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
References
HMSO (1999) The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, Report of an Inquiry by Sir William
Macpherson of Cluny, Cm 4262-I. London: The Stationery Office, http://www.
archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm42/4262/4262.htm
HMSO (2004) ‘Building Communities, Beating Crime’ A framework for policing in
the 21st century, CM 6360, http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/news-and-publications/
publication/police-reform/wp04_complete.pdf
‘Assessing the Impact of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry’, Home Office Research
Study 294, Janet Foster, Tim Newburn and Anna Souhami, Home Office
Research Development and Statistics Directorate, October 2005. This report
can be downloaded free from http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/
hors294.pdf
Julian Buchanan
Reader in Community Justice, Social Inclusion Research Unit, NEWI
A profile of those that use the CARAT drug service in
prisons
Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Throughcare service (CARATs) is a
drug treatment service available in every prison across England and Wales. It is
a key element of the Prison Service Drug Strategy. The CARAT team offer prison-
ers assessment, advice and referral to drug services. CARAT workers may also
provide counselling and group work to prisoners who want to stop misusing drugs.
The service began in 1999 and information on prisoners using the services has
been collected since April 2002. The findings in this report draw upon over 80,000
prisoners who have used the CARAT service. This report provides a profile of pris-
oners using the service.
Over 40 per cent of all prisoners make use of the CARAT service, which illus-
trates just how widespread drug problems are amongst the prison population in
England and Wales. The gender breakdown of those using the CARAT service was
88 per cent men and 12 per cent women, which is similar to the gender break-
down in the overall prison population. The most common route into CARATs was
self-referral, though women were more likely to refer themselves; 64 per cent self-
referred compared with 54 per cent of men. Probation staff were responsible for
only 4 per cent of referrals though this did vary between prisons. In relation to
data on ethnicity the figures indicate a lower percentage of people from Black and
Minority Ethnic backgrounds using the CARAT service when compared with the
overall prison population. In respect of age, the public perception may associate
drug use with youth and early adulthood; interestingly the majority of those using
the CARAT service were over 25 years old.
When asked about the drugs they had used in the 30 days prior to custody in
2004–5, heroin (62%), crack (49%), cannabis (42%) and alcohol (36%) domi-
nated the list. Interestingly, the recorded use of heroin and crack fell significantly
between 2003–04 and 2004–05. One in five prisoners also admitted to using
benzodiazepines in the past month. When asked which drug posed the main
Probation Journal
176 53(2)
To continue reading
Request your trial