Criminal reactions to drug-using offenders: A systematic review of the effect of treatment and/or punishment on reduction of drug use and/or criminal recidivism

Abstract

The association between substance use and crime is very common, but complex. Several countries have found strategies to face drug abuse and criminality that may exist associated to it, seeking to reduce overcrowded prisons and to promote the reductions of criminal recidivism and/or substance use. Through the guidelines of PRISMA, a systematic review was conducted with the aim to explore the different criminal reactions to individuals who use substances and are involved in the criminal justice system, namely the role of treatment and/or punishment in the reduction of crime recidivism and/or drug (ab)use. After gathering the following criteria of inclusion (individuals who use substances and are involved in the criminal justice system, between 18 and 65 years old, regardless of gender; consumers of licit/illicit psychoactive substances; without psychopathology not related with use/abuse of drugs; treatment programs; judicial interventions) the database found 155 articles between 1971 and 2022 from which 110 were selected for analysis (57 are from Academic Search Complete, 28 from PsycInfo, 10 from Academic Search Ultimate, seven from Sociology Source Ultimate, four from Business Source Complete, two from Criminal Justice Abstracts, and two from PsycArticles); additional records were included trough manual search. From these studies, 23 articles were included, as they answered the research question, and therefore, constitute the final sample of this revision. The results indicate treatment as an effective response of the criminal justice system in the reduction of criminal recidivism and/or drug use, addressing the criminogenic effect of reclusion/imprisonment. Therefore, interventions that privilege treatment should be chosen, although there are still gaps in terms of evaluation, monitoring and scientific publications regarding the effectiveness of treatment in this population.

Health Education Initiatives for People Who Have Experienced Prison: A Narrative Review

“…In this review, we observed that most of the interventions aimed at preventing substance abuse were led during imprisonment and that, in at least three of them [18,32,36], participants were followed up after release to determine the effects of the intervention. This is aligned with other authors who state that it is important to adapt the programs to the needs and individual characteristics of each offender in order to achieve a successful intervention [49].…”

“…Apart from alcohol consumption, some of the studies in this review dealt with issues linked to opioids and other substances. The association between substance use and crime is very common but complex [49]. Opioid use disorder is a very common problem in prisons, which can be explained by drug criminalization and, therefore, by people's involvement and use of illegal drugs.…”

Neuropsychological Assessment in Schooled Adolescent Offenders and Non-Offenders

“…life at a social and economic level (Vergunst et al, 2022). Treatment focused on psychoactive substance abuse can be effective and reduce the risk of drug use and even reoffending (Tomaz et al, 2023). Drug use not only contributes to crime, but also has direct consequences on your mental health and overall well-being.…”

Neufassung des § 64 StGB und dessen Bedeutung für die Unterbringung von suchtkranken Rechtsbrechern im Maßregelvollzug

“…Der Maßregelvollzug für suchtkranke Rechtsbrecher ist ein deutscher Sonderweg, viele andere Länder kennen dies nicht. Hier werden entsprechende Personen in Gefängnissen betreut [29]. Zur Wirksamkeit der Behandlung suchtkranker Rechtsbrecher im Maßregelvollzug in Bezug auf Suchtmittelkonsum und zukünftige Straffreiheit liegen wenige Studien vor [9,14,[23][24][25].…”