DRUG ADDICTS 'SHOULD NOT BE LOCKED UP'

Too many minor criminals with drug problems are being jailed and then
receive poor treatment in prison, a damning report warns today.

The UK Drug Policy Commission said some even take fatal overdoses
after their release because of a lack of support. The influential
think-tank also said that routine drug-testing for lesser offences,
which was introduced five years ago, is proving counter-productive.

Its warnings follow the disclosure that heroin and other opiates were
now used more widely in jails than cannabis, with up to one in six
inmates in some prisons regularly taking class A substances.

About 125,000 people in England and Wales are thought to be problem
drug users and drug-related crime costs an estimated UKP13.5bn a year.
Between one-third and one-half of offenders sentenced to jail are
users of class A drugs.

The commission said community sentences would be more appropriate for
most problem drug users than jails which are already struggling to
cope with record numbers. It concluded: "Custodial sentences may
frequently do more harm than good."

Addicts risked losing their homes and jobs when they were locked up
and found their family relationships coming under great strain. They
also faced the danger of picking up diseases such as HIV from infected
needles.

The think-tank noted estimates that one in every 200 addicts who
inject heroin died from overdoses within a fortnight of being freed
from jail. It said: "Enforced detoxification without adequate
follow-up support increases the risk of relapse, overdose and death,
particularly in release."

It said the numbers undergoing detoxification in jail were
significant, but warned it was often not matched by good-quality aftercare.

The commission called for a fresh look at the policy which requires
testing upon arrest for such offences as robbery, burglary, handling
stolen goods, fraud and begging.

It said the practice was "likely to be inefficient and could be
harmful" as it was targeted at "less problematic" users who were in
danger of getting caught up in the criminal justice system.

Dame Ruth Runciman, the commission's chairwoman, said: "Community
sentences are likely to be more beneficial than short prison sentences
for the treatment and rehabilitation of problem drug-using offenders."

She added: "Despite some welcome improvements and an increase in
investment, the standard of healthcare and support for prisoners with
drug problems falls well below acceptable minimum standards in too
many prisons."

David Howarth, a Liberal Democrat justice spokesman, said: "This
report rightly highlights the load imposed by drug users on our
over-burdened penal system. Instead of sending ever-increasing numbers
of people to prison, the Government should focus on ordering drug
treatment for non-serious offenders. For these offenders, effective
drug treatment outside prison will have a far greater impact on
reducing future crime than short-term prison sentences."

David Hanson, the Prisons minister, said: "The report recognises the
challenges facing the criminal justice system in addressing the
problems caused by drug-misusers, the difficulty in treating a chronic
relapsing condition and acknowledges improvements made in recent
years, including significant increases in resources for drug treatment
leading to increased numbers being treated."

*Almost two in every thousand of the population are in detention in
the UK, according to figures compiled by the Centre for Crime and
Justice Studies at King's College London. There are now 108,504 people
in prison, child secure units, immigration removal centres or detained
under the Mental Health Act.