Abstract
Downview prison, like most UK prisons, experienced a growth in drug use, and addiction among prisoners, throughout the 1980s. In 1992 a strategy was introduced with the aims of reducing the level of drug use in the prison, and of providing treatment to prisoners with the most severe problems to help them stay drug and crime free on release. The strategy, jointly managed by the Prison Managers and an independent treatment organisation, included the requirement that all prisoners sign a contact promising to avoid all drug use in prison; a system of incentives that reward compliance with the drug strategy; and provision of a treatment programme to those prisoners who admit they need help. The results now observed include a reduction in positive drug tests from 50% in 1983 to 8% in 1997; contravention of prison rules reduced by 775% over the same period, and almost 200 graduates of the treatment programme. This article will detail these achievements and analyse the key elements of a successful prison drug strategy.
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