Rehabilitation agency Nacro is concerned that there is insufficient
government funding to cope with the sheer scale of the current
shortfall in resettlement services for former drug-addicts leaving
prison.
Although the government has pledged to improve community access to
treatment and ensure that those leaving prison avoid the revolving
door back into addiction and offending, Nacro finds there are not
enough appropriate treatment facilities in the community, and that
those available often have long waiting lists.
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The report, due to be published later this month, calls for major
additional investment in community drug treatment services to plug
the many gaps in current service provision. Adequate numbers of
people should also be trained to work with problem drug
users.
The new research also finds that drug treatment services in prison
need to be increased and prison numbers need to decrease in order
to help more prisoners come off and stay off drugs.
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Highlighting the lack of services to which prisoners can be
referred, the report adds: "On the most optimistic projections,
need will outstrip supply for some time, and many prisoners who
would benefit are unable to participate in intensive programmes -
particularly those serving short sentences."
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