Page 5108 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 27 October 2010
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Narcotics Anonymous, in their rehabilitation programs, encourage their members to remove themselves from situations where drug use and drug users are present. It is common sense that not having the substance present makes it easier for a person to abstain.
The Alexander Maconochie Centre currently operates a drug and alcohol therapeutic community, first steps and back in control, in which detainees may participate in order to reduce the incidence of drug addiction. However, it is difficult to target and focus on the detainees who would benefit most from these programs without being able to identify them. Random mandatory drug testing identifies those people who are current users of drugs and also, importantly, identifies what drugs they are actually using.
The provision of rehabilitation programs at the Alexander Maconochie Centre would also be enhanced, as programs can be obtained and delivered with the best possible knowledge of what drugs prisoners are using. It is important to identify who is using and abusing illegal substances, for a variety of safety and treatment issues. The Correctional Service of Canada state that the information gathered from urinalysis has had a profound effect on how that service targets programs and treatment services to those identified with drug abuse problems.
In the recent debate on the introduction of a needle and syringe program at the Alexander Maconochie Centre, Ms Bresnan raised the concern that violence between prisoners may increase due to mandatory random drug testing. It was argued that violence may increase as prisoners carry out their own form of justice against those who are caught using drugs. It is an important concern, as the safety of corrections officers, who will often be caught up in prisoner violence, is paramount.
However, the research quoted by Ms Bresnan was a narrative survey of prisoners conducted in the initial stages of the introductory mandatory random drug testing in the UK in 1997. This survey asked prisoners what they thought would be the consequences of the introduction of mandatory random drug testing in prisons. These initial opinions were based on the fact that offenders initially felt that random selection was not random in reality—rather, that it was being used as a punitive measure, thus raising tension between prisoners and corrections staff.
However, subsequent data collected by the UK Home Office has shown that there has not been an increase in violence between prisoners or against guards. Furthermore, measures have been taken in overseas jurisdictions to ensure that the integrity of random selection is upheld. Additionally, a survey of New South Wales prisoners found that a majority felt that urine testing was fair. Violence is unlikely to arise between prisoners and corrections staff if the integrity of the randomised system is maintained and detainees have confidence in it.
Violence in correctional facilities increases as a result of the presence of drugs. Trafficking in drugs leads to significant threats to the security of correctional facilities for both detainees and corrections staff. Detainees will often need to seek protection from dealers within the prisons due to pressure and physical threat for non-payment of drug debts. Drug dealers intimidate and place pressure on offenders returning from
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