Drug Interventions In Criminal Justice

Book excerpt: During the past decade, the UK government has increasingly sought to reduce levels of crime and anti-social behaviour through tackling problem drug use among offenders. Despite debates about the precise nature of the relationship between drug use and offending, a multiplicity of interventions have been introduced in an attempt to break the apparent link between problem drug use and crime, particularly acquisitive crime. These interventions have proliferated over time but have now been combined under the umbrella of the Drug Interventions Programme which aims to channel and, many would argue, coerce drug-using offenders into treatment.