Straffällige mit Suchtproblemen

Crime, dissociality and drug use are associated in many ways: Dissocial disorders predispose to drug use, addiction problems make it difficult to cope with everyday life, intoxicating states promote impulsive behaviour. It is therefore not surprising that the proportion of substance-dependent people in prison is many times higher than in the population. Efforts are made to limit the damage and offers are made - from counselling groups to the administration of substitute drugs - without really being able to get to grips with the problem within the prison system. One penal provision has gained more and more importance over the years: placement in a rehab centre. Yet it has been difficult so far to reliably assess the yield of this socio-therapeutic measure - compared to merely serving a sentence. The evaluation study in Essen had exactly this goal: to compare the success of probation of patients in a measure with that of a carefully "matched" group of prisoners with addiction problems. The results are significant and important with regard to the development of correctional practice. Those affected differ considerably in terms of their need for support and therapeutic responsiveness. Motivation for therapy and change are necessarily always ambivalent, temptations to use lurk around every corner. The variety of new synthetic drugs that are difficult to detect causes great problems for the institutions. Today, it is undisputed that transition management and outpatient aftercare are essential for the yield of socio-therapeutic efforts - in the penal system as in other fields of practice. Therapy behind high walls, without gradual preparation for life in freedom and without concrete assistance in social integration, is not appropriate.