Tagged: desistance

Science & Technology / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance

NHS Heroin: A “Cure” for Crime?

The General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing [RCN], Peter Carter, has called for the prescription of the (currently illegal) drug heroin to be prescribed on the National Health Service [NHS]. Although, not the first to suggest this radical approach to problematic drug (mis)use, his intervention at this particular juncture raises questions. Given the upcoming UK General Election (6 May 2010), as well as the recent controversies surrounding the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs [ACMD], Carter’s comments appear...

Science & Technology / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance

“Free” Heroin on the NHS

by paulabowles The links between illegal drug use and crime, particularly acquisitive, have long been recognised as problematic. Recent statistics published in The Independent suggest that as few as ten percent of addicts commit 75 percent of all acquisitive crime. In spite of these consistently dispiriting figures, the familiar approach is one of punishment, with some attempt at rehabilitation. Moreover, all of these programmes have at their foundations an aim to ensure their clients maintain complete desistance from drug use....

Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance

Prison: An Unlikely "Beacon of Hope"?

by paulabowles The Longford Prize for outstanding work in the area of social and penal reform has recently been announced. Although the award has been running since 2002, honouring diverse organisations and individuals, this year is the first time the prize has been awarded to a prison. HMP Grendon was chosen for its unique approach to tackling recidivism, described by the Longford Trust as offering a “beacon of hope”’ for its inmates. Since its creation in 1962 the prison has...