How successful has the prison system been in achieving a balance Essay

How successful has the prison system been in achieving a balance between disciplinary and therapeutic strategies in dealing with - Essay Example Northern Ireland has the least number of inmates at less than 2,000 and only few prisons. Drug abuse in the UK is governed by Misuse of Drugs Act and several other laws that prohibit organised crimes related to illicit drugs. It is estimated that over 300,000 individuals in UK consume illegal drugs and one third of the drug addicts engage in routine crimes. About 75,000 drug users enter the prison system annually with about 16 percent of the drug addicts abusing drugs regularly while in prison (Robinson & Crow 2009). On average, 55 percent of prisoners have drug related problems while about one third of suicide deaths and self-harm crimes are committed within the first week of imprisonment (Robinson & Crow 2009). The UK prison system has successfully attained a balance between the disciplinary role of the prison strategies and therapeutic strategies in dealing with drug abuse problem (Tonry 2004). Historically, any prison system was used to discipline the offenders through harsh puni shments and long imprisonment terms. However, due to the high number of repeat offenders, many prison systems including the United Kingdom have implemented new measures of rehabilitating the offenders and controlling repeat offences (Robinson & Crow 2009). ... The prison system has contained the offenders in a humane manner thus allowing the offenders to successfully integrate in the society after their imprisonment term (Gravett 2000). Substance abuse is a critical problem among the prison population. Therapeutic treatments for the offenders benefit both the individual and wider society. Some therapeutic strategies include detoxification in order to manage the withdrawal symptoms and prevent the long run relapse in to substance abuse (Mathiesen 2006). The UK prison system has also implemented community based therapeutic services within the prisons that enable health workers to attend to drug offenders. The National Probation Service ensures that the prison staffs continually improve the access to therapeutic care and implement strategies that minimize supply of drugs in the prison system (Tonry 2004). Some of the challenges experienced in the therapeutic strategies include illicit access of drugs in the prisons, increased harm to prisoner s due to overdose and integration of the CARAT services in to a multi-agency therapeutic team. The prison system provides methadone or buprenorphine that is made to limit withdrawal symptoms. The prison population has increased and role of drug enforcement must be emphasized. Significant populations of the drug offenders are seeking minimal punishments under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Drug law enforcement is responsible for about one third of the imprisoned offenders in the UK prison system. Illegal drug users over the age of 18 years are considered serious criminals while high drug dependency among the low-income individuals is likely to engage in other