What does Dame Carol Black’s review of drug and alcohol misuse services mean for probation services?

Abstract

The Review of Drugs in two parts by Dame Carol Black (2020, 2021) has put new life into the case for properly resourcing substance misuse services in England and Wales. The Black Review has largely been accepted by the UK Government; Dame Carol’s analysis and recommendations have been the catalyst for additional funding and a renewed policy focus upon enforcement, treatment and prevention of drug misuse. Nevertheless, the Review has been criticised for focussing upon low-harm recreational drugs, for lacking consideration of co-occurring alcohol and drug misuse, and for accepting the Government’s restricted remit which excluded from consideration the harms of criminalisation and the ‘war on drugs’ (Transform Drugs, 2021).

The following will summarise the Black Review, and the associated research and evidence. The article also attempts to elucidate key implications for probation, and the new opportunities for probation professionals to restore their ‘fractured relationship’ (Ball and Parker, 2022) with substance misuse colleagues.

Keywords

Drug misuse substance misuse probation recovery treatment

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ball

Buckley

Moore

(2021) Caseloads, Workloads and Staffing Levels in Probation Services. Manchester: HMI Probation.

Ball

Parker

(2022) ‘Substance misuse services and probation: a fractured relationship’. in: Brooker

Sirdifield

(eds). Probation, Mental Health and Criminal Justice – Towards Equivalence. London: Routledge.

Black

(2020) Review of Drugs: Executive Summary. London: Home Office.

Black

(2021) Review of Drugs Part Two: Prevention, Treatment and Recovery. London: Home Office.

Black

(2021a) Review of Drugs Part Two: Prevention, Treatment and Recovery: Annexes. London: Home Office.

Bonta

Andrews

(2010) The Psychology of Criminal Conduct. London: Routledge.

Castellanos

Gralnik

(2016) ‘Synthetic cannabinoids 2015: an update for paediatricians in clinical practice’ World Journal of Clinical Paediatrics. 5(1): 16–24.

Centre for Justice Innovation (2018) Renewing Trust: How We Can Improve the Relationship between Probation and the Courts. London: CJI.

Cohen

(1979) ‘The punitive city: notes on the dispersal of social control’ Crime, Law and Social Change 3(4): 339–363.

10.

Crest Advisory (2021) Biting into County Lines - Is Project ADDER the answer? Available at: https://www.crestadvisory.com/post/biting-into-county-lines-is-project-adder-the-answer Accessed: 29 August 2022.

11.

Hamilton

(2022) The UK Tinkers Around the Edges of Drug Policy But it Still Needs National Reform. Available at: https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o52 Accessed: 29 August 2022.

12.

Harding

(2020) County Lines: Exploitation and Drug Dealing Among Urban Street Gangs. Bristol: Policy Press.

13.

Harrison

Krieger

Johnson

(2020) ‘Review of individual placement and support employment intervention for persons with substance use disorder.’ Substance Use and Misuse. 55(4): 636–643.

14.

HM Inspectorate of Probation (2017) The Implementation and Delivery of Rehabilitation Activity Requirements. Manchester.

15.

HM Inspectorate of Probation (2020) 2019/2020 Annual Report: Inspections of Probation Services. Manchester.

16.

HM Inspectorate of Probation (2021) A Joint Thematic Inspection of Community-Based Drug Treatment and Recovery Work with People on Probation. Manchester.

17.

HM Inspectorate of Probation (2022a) The Risk-Need-Responsivity Model. Available at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/research/the-evidence-base-probation/models-and-principles/the-rnr-model/ Accessed: 18 August 2022.

18.

HM Inspectorate of Probation (2022b) Regional Review Letter: Probation Service – West Midlands Region. Manchester.

19.

HM Inspectorate of Probation (2022c) Regional Review Letter: Probation Service – Kent, Surrey and Sussex Region. Manchester.

20.

HM Inspectorates of Prisons and Probation (2022) Offender Management in Custody – Pre-release. Manchester.

21.

HM Prison and Probation Services (2022a) Offender Management Statistics Quarterly. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2021 Accessed: 18 August 2022.

22.

HM Prison and Probation Services (2022b) A Response to: A Joint Thematic Inspection of Community-Based Drug Treatment and Recovery Work with People under Probation Supervision. London: Ministry of Justice.

23.

Home Office (2018) Drug Misuse: Findings from the 2017 to 2018 CSEW. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/drug-misuse-findings-from-the-2017-to-2018-csew Accessed: 22 August 2022.

24.

Home Office (2019) Independent Review of Drugs, Part 1: Terms of Reference. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-drugs-terms-of-reference/independent-review-of-drugs-terms-of-reference Accessed: 22 August 2022.

25.

Kerman

Polillo

Bardwell

, et al. (2021) ‘Harm reduction outcomes and practices in housing first: A mixed-methods systematic review’. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 228: 109052.

26.

Lewis

(2022) How the public sector can overcome its recruitment challenges. Available at: https://www.govx.digital/people/hays Accessed: 22 August 2022.

27.

Local Government Association (2020) “Fragmented” Short-Term Government Grants Poor Value for Money, Councils Warn. Available at: https://www.local.gov.uk/about/news/fragmented-short-term-government-grants-poor-value-money-councils-warn Accessed: 29 August 2022.

28.

McSweeney

Turnbull

Hough

(2008) The Treatment and Supervision of Drug-Dependent Offenders: A Review of the Literature Prepared for the UK Drug Policy Commission. London: Institute for Criminal Policy Research, King’s College.

29.

Ministry of Justice and Public Health England (2017) The Impact of Community Drug and Alcohol Treatment on Re-Offending: Joint Experimental Statistical Report from the Ministry of Justice and Public Health England. London: Ministry of Justice.

30.

Ministry of Justice (2018) Offending Behaviour Programmes and Interventions. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/offending-behaviour-programmes-and-interventions Accessed: 2 December 2022.

31.

Ministry of Justice (2022a) Identified Needs of Offenders in Custody and the Community From the Offender Assessment System, 30 June 2021. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/identified-needs-of-offenders-in-custody-and-the-community-from-the-offender-assessment-system-30-june-2021 Accessed: 18 August 2022.

32.

Ministry of Justice (2022b) Ministry of Justice: Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD). Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-justice-better-outcomes-through-linked-data-bold Accessed: 30 August 2022.

33.

Munthe-Kaas

Berg

Blaasvær

(2018) Effectiveness of Interventions to Reduce Homelessness: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Oslo: Campbell Systematic Review.

34.

National Treatment Agency (2012) Estimating the Crime Reduction Benefits of Drug Treatment and Recovery. London: NHS.

35.

Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (2021) Substance Misuse Treatment for Adults: Statistics 2020 to 2021. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/substance-misuse-treatment-for-adults-statistics-2020-to-2021 Accessed: 25 August 2022.

36.

O’Leary

(2013) ‘The role of stable accommodation in reducing recidivism: what does the evidence tell us?’ Safer Communities. 12(1): 5–12.

37.

DiNitto

Powers

(2020) ‘Spillover effects of job skills training on substance misuse among low-income youths with employment barriers: a longitudinal cohort study’ American Journal of Public Health. 110(6): 900–906.

38.

Polcin

Korcha

(2017) ‘Housing status, psychiatric symptoms, and substance abuse outcomes among sober living house residents over 18 months’. Addictive Disorders and Their Treatment. 16(3): 138–150

39.

Probation Service (2021) Probation Service Grants for Rehabilitative Services. Available at: https://welcome-hub.hmppsintranet.org.uk/my-work/my-service/interventions-unpaid-work-and-crs/commissioned-rehabilitative-services/probation-service-grants-for-rehabilitative-services/ Accessed: 18 August 2022.

40.

Public Health England (2017) An Evidence Review of the Outcomes that Can Be Expected of Drug Misuse Treatment in England. London: Public Health England.

41.

Rognli

EB.

et al. (2021) The effect evaluation of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) for patients with substance use disorders: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial of IPS versus enhanced self-help. Trails 22(1): 705. Available at: https://researchportal.ukhsa.gov.uk/en/publications/the-effect-evaluation-of-individual-placement-and-support-ips-for Accessed: 25 August 2022.

42.

Selseng

Follevåg

Aaslund

(2022) ‘How people with lived experiences of substance use understand and experience user involvement in substance use care: a synthesis of qualitative studies’. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18(19): 10219.

43.

Sirdifield

(2022) ‘Substance misuse: a systematic review’ In: Brooker

Sirdifield

(eds). Probation, Mental Health and Criminal Justice – Towards Equivalence. London: Routledge.

44.

Slade

Baguley

Justice

(2022) Analysis of Profiles for Deaths under Probation Supervision: England and Wales 2019-21. Nottingham: Nottingham Trent University.

45.

Statista (2022) Number of Job Vacancies Per 100 Employee Jobs in the United Kingdom from June 2001 to July 2022. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/530196/uk-job-vacancy-rate/ Accessed: 30 August 2022.

46.

Stevens

(2022) ‘New prospects for harm reduction in the UK? A commentary on the new UK drug strategy’ International Journal of Drug Policy 109: 103844. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955395922002602 Accessed: 5 September 2022.

47.

Sumnall

(2022) ‘Encouraging a ‘generational shift’ in the UKs relationship with drugs. A commentary on the new UK drug strategy. What can be achieved with drug prevention?’ International Journal of Drug Policy 109: 103841. Forthcoming.

48.

Transform Drugs Policy Foundation (2021) Black Review: Strong on Treatment, But Avoids Law Reform. Available at: https://transformdrugs.org/blog/black-review-strong-on-treatment-but-avoids-law-reform Accessed: 16 August 2022.

49.

Urbanoski

Veldhuizen

Krausz

, et al. (2018) ‘Effects of comorbid substance use disorders on outcomes in a Housing First intervention for homeless people with mental illness’ Addiction 113 (1): 137–145.

50.

Wang

Morgan

Dawson

(2020) BMA Mental Health Workforce Survey: Data from Clinical Psychologists. Available at: https://acpuk.org.uk/bma_mental_health_workforce_survey Accessed: 25 August 2022.

51.

Webster

(2022) Prison and Probation Officers Leaving in Droves. Available at: https://www.russellwebster.com/prison-and-probation-officers-leaving-in-droves/ Accessed: 23 August 2022.