Hampshire DAAT's Alcohol Strategy Coordinator, Mike Webb, has finalised research into alcohol misuse amongst the local prison population. HMP Winchester Survey of Prisoners’ Alcohol Misuse report can be downloaded here.
The survey questionnaire was completed by 405 prisoners, out of a total population of 697, and revealed some startling findings around alcohol misuse. These included:
Health
- Winchester prison has 10 times as many hazardous/dependant drinkers than the general population
- The average consumption among those who said they did not have a drinking problem was 43 units per week; those who said that they did have a drinking problem averaged 157 units per week
- 35% of prisoners believe that they have a drinking problem
Violent Crime
The link between violent crime and alcohol consumption was repeatedly highlighted:
- 46% of prisoners stated that alcohol was linked to their criminal activity, with violent crime accounting for half of these offences
- Of those prisoners who believed that they have an alcohol problem, over half stated that their offence was for violent crime
Service Provision
- 49% said that they would use an alcohol service within the prison; however 37% of this group are not eligible to access current service provision
The report concludes that there is a significant proportion of the prison population within HMP Winchester with serious social and offending problems that may be strongly linked to drinking behaviour; such prisoners recognise this problem and have expressed a desire to access services to address it. The Prison Service Alcohol Strategy for Prisoners (Addressing Alcohol Misuse) and its Treatment Interventions Good Practice Guide (both available via here) provide an alcohol treatment framework but this has not yet been resourced, while provision nationally is extremely limited and patchy.
Given the strong link between alcohol and offending, the potential reduction in re-offending through addressing problem drinking behaviour would indicate that this would be a cost-effective intervention strategy.
Contact Mike for more details on 01962 826033; or via the Hampshire DAAT website.
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