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See other news storiesNew research on impact of drug interventions programme
6 December 2007
A new piece of research, published by the Home Office, examines the way that the Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) engages and directs Class A drug misusers from the point of arrest or charge to the point of treatment, and examines their offending levels before and after identification by DIP.
The research has a number of findings that have implications for policy makers and others involved in the area of drugs, crime and harm reduction and in particular the use of interventions that are targeted at underlying factors driving criminal behaviour.
The data indicates that offending levels reduced following contact with DIP. Whilst not a full outcome evaluation, a comparison of offending levels before and after contact with DIP found that offending levels in the six months following DIP were lower than in the six months before DIP:
- The overall volume of offending by a cohort of 7,727 individuals was 26 per cent lower following DIP identification.
- Around half of the drug misusers who come into contact with DIP through the custody suite showed a decline in offending of around 79 per cent in the six months following DIP contact.
- Offending levels increased following DIP contact for around a quarter of positive testers.
The research supports the approach of using the criminal justice system as one route for getting drug misusers into treatment. It also provides evidence about the role of semi-coercive approaches to improve engagement in programmes.
The executive summary and the full report are published on the Home Office website. To view go to:
Three-page executive summary: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/horr02b.pdf
Full report: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/horr02c.pdf (new window)
