The Changing Shape Of Drug Treatment Services: The Probation Contribution
| Date | 01 December 1999 |
| Published date | 01 December 1999 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455059904600405 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
246
The
Changing
Shape
Of
Drug
Treatment
Services:
The
Probation
Contribution
As
a
one-time
member
of
the
Prison
Serviced
Drug
Strategy
Unit,
Deborah
Mitchell
has
had
a
unique
insight
into
its
role
in
the
implementation
of
the
National
Drug
Strategy.
Here,
she
draws
on
this
experience
and
relevant
literature
to
identify
policy
and
practice
lessons
for
Probation
Services
setting
up
drug
treatment
and
testing
orders
and
other
community
drug
programmes.
hen
the
Government’s
ten
year
strategy
Tackling
Drugs
to
Build
a
Better
Britain
was
published
in
April
1998,
there
was
no
indication
of
what,
if
any,
additional
resources
were
to
support
it.
Many
commentators
(for
example,
Buchanan
&
Young,
1998)
questioned
the
value
of
further
rhetoric,
no
matter
how
well
intentioned,
and
certainly
did
not
anticipate
the
£217
million
of
new
money
announced
in
August
1998.
This
was
made
available,
for
the
three
years
from
April
1999,
through
the
Government’s
inter-
departmental
Comprehensive
Spending
Review
on
Illegal
Drugs
(Cabinet
Office,
1998).
Of
the
new
monies,
£’~6
million
was
awarded
to
the
Prison
Service,
and
£bl
million
to
the
Probation
Service
for
the
development
of
Drug
Treatment
and
Testing
Orders
(DTTt~s).
This
is
a
new
community
sentence,
which
theoretically
can
stand
alone,
but
which
is
likely
to
be
imposed
together
with
a
probation
order.
Key
features
are
treatment
at
a
specified
place
and
for
a
specified
period,
regular
urine
testing
for
drug
use,
and
review
of
progress
by
the
Court.
While
the
Prison
Service
also
has
responsibility
for
reducing
the
supply
of
drugs
into
prisons,
their
new
money
was
awarded
mainly
for
the
provision
of
treatment
to
prisoners
with
drug
problems.
It
was
intended
to
develop
treatment
services
in
two
respects:
firstly,
a
comprehensive
’safety
net’
service
entitled
’CARAT’,
providing
Counselling,
Assessment,
Referral,
Advice
and
Throughcare
(Probation
Circulars
56/1998
and
68/1998).
The
plan
was
that
this
service
should,
in
principle
at
least,
be
available
to
every
prisoner,
and
cater,
perhaps
particularly,
for
those
on
remand
or
given
short
sentences,
since
a
high
proportion
of
those
who
request
a
medical
detoxification
on
reception
into
custody
are
in
these
groups
(Mitchell
&
McCarthy,
1998).
The
second
focus
for
spending
was
the
development
of
a
geographical
spread
of
To continue reading
Request your trial