Conducting addictions research in the criminal justice system
What is the issue?
Photo by Andrii Zastrozhnov/Adobe Stock
People in contact with the criminal justice system often experience drug and alcohol dependence, yet research to test and scale innovative treatments and recovery technologies to address their substance use in these settings remains difficult to undertake.
Identified issues include the varying provision of addiction treatments within and across the United Kingdom; information sharing and data systems across key stakeholders are often inconsistent; and transitions between prison and community services are fragmented, undermining continuity of care. Furthermore, research studies may face challenges such as the risk of selection bias (at both participant and site level), barriers to accessing linked health and justice data and securing consent, and complex, multiagency ethical and governance approvals.
How are we helping?
RAND Europe, in partnership with Ipsos, TONIC and Revolving Doors is conducting a study commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care/Office for Life Sciences. The study explores how research on innovative substance use treatments and recovery technologies across the UK is conducted in criminal justice settings. It seeks to identify barriers researchers face, explore how data systems can better support studies, and provide practical recommendations to improve research design, governance and delivery – helping to share good practice and strengthen the evidence base for innovative treatments and recovery technologies in criminal justice settings across the four nations.
RAND Europe will hold Delphi policy workshops with selected stakeholders including research commissioners, people facilitating and using research, researchers and people with lived experience of addiction research to explore emerging findings from the study and co-design actionable recommendations. The workshops will aim to prioritise the key barriers to conducting quantitative and qualitative research in criminal justice settings and to develop recommendations to address them. Building on this work we will also conduct a scenario exercise with stakeholders to creatively apply and explore emerging recommendations from the study, to better understand the consequences of specific actions and to facilitate structured and targeted discussions.
