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| Addictions Units Help Canadian Inmates |
| By Canadian Press |
| Published: 10/10/2005 |
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Canada's prisons are trying to help those who want to help themselves, especially drug addicts. Addiction units have been established at all federal penitentiaries to help inmates deal with drug and alcohol problems after a pilot project found those who completed the program were less likely to return to crime. "If only 100 offenders participated successfully in the (intensive support units), the savings would exceed $800,000," says the report, obtained by The Canadian Press through an access to information request. That's because it's much cheaper to supervise an offender in the community than in prison, said lead researcher Brian Grant. About 80 per cent of inmates admitted to federal prisons have substance abuse problems. The study found that two-thirds of inmates who completed the program were granted early release. They were also less likely to be returned to custody or be charged with a new offence in the two years following their release. But Prison officers are skeptical about the program's reported success mainly due to the fact that it only lasts about 10 weeks. The study assessed 246 male offenders at prisons in New Brunswick, Ontario, Alberta and Quebec. Although the pilot study was done in minimum-and medium-security institutions, corrections officials were impressed enough with preliminary findings in 2003 to add addiction units to all prisons. The units are searched more often than other areas of the prison for drugs and contraband, and random drug tests were more frequent. The report notes that since staff in the pilot program were assigned from different parts of the prisons, the only additional costs were for extra drug screening tests, which is about $100 for each prisoner in the program. But urine tests which screen for a wider range of drugs are upwards of $50 and should be administered more often. Questions are also being raised about how often the prisoners should be tested. |
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