Call 888-647-0579 to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.

Who Answers?

Prisons offer little or no support for inmates with alcohol problem

Almost 89% of prisoners with an alcohol problem got no help while behind bars last year, according to figures obtained by The Herald.

Despite alcohol being an aggravating factor in more than half of all homicides and much of the violent and anti-social crime which blights Scotland, a tiny proportion of inmates get specialist help while in jail.

According to the 2008 prisoner survey, much of the prison population has a problem with alcohol and some 49% said they were drunk at the time of their offence. However, figures released following a parliamentary question by Richard Baker, Labour’s justice spokesman, show that last year just 402 inmates completed a prison alcohol awareness programme, out of a total population of 7376.

Two of Scotland’s prisons, Dumfries and Kilmarnock, have no alcohol awareness programme and ministers have confirmed there are no plans to introduce them.

Politicians and academics have questioned whether prison is the best place for those whose criminal lifestyle is fuelled by addiction or whether they would be best served in community rehabilitation programmes.

Many inmates serve sentences of six months or less, making the provision of alcohol or other addiction programmes difficult to administer, and the prison service can only offer courses to those willing to participate. Recent research by Bill McKinlay, governor of Barlinnie Prison, and academics at Glasgow Caledonian University, found that 57% of young offenders blamed their offence on alcohol in 2007, compared to 30% in 1979.

Some 43% of the inmates interviewed in 2007 revealed they drank Buckfast immediately prior to their offence. The number blaming just drugs dropped from 21% in 1996 to 9% in 2007.

The Scottish Government has made tackling alcohol abuse and alcohol-related violence a key priority but some of their pledges, including minimum pricing, have already been mired in controversy.

Mr Baker said he believes Alcohol Treatment and Testing Orders (ATTOs) should be introduced to help address addiction problems. “(Justice Secretary) Kenny MacAskill keeps on talking about rehabilitation but, as these figures make clear, he is failing,” he said. “Only one in 10 prisoners receive the support they need to deal with alcohol problems and that needs to change.”

source: The Herald

More Treatment & Detox Articles

Older alcoholics ‘drink more’

Older alcoholics knock back far more than younger ones, and for those over 60 that means an average of 42.5 drinks every week, a US study released found today. The research, led by Linda Ginzer of Ohio State University and carried out in late November by the Gerontology Society of America, examined data from 43,000….

How Long Will Alcohol Detox Take?

Alcohol Detox Timeline Alcohol addiction will cause intense and painful withdrawal symptoms for the majority of alcoholics who stop drinking, which is why medical supervision is highly advised in people who wish to stop drinking after abusing alcohol for years. However, the physical withdrawal symptoms, though intense, usually will subside after the first five days….

Alcoholics' families need support, too

Alcoholics Anonymous is well known as a self-help programme for people who regularly abuse alcohol, now known to be one adult in five. But the despair, confusion and resentment suffered by the alcoholic is invariably felt by their family too. I know this from both sides of the fence: as the child of a drink-dependent….

Keep legal drinking age where it is – at 21

If there’s a deeply compelling reason for dropping the minimum legal drinking age to 18, the distinguished academic supporters of the Amethyst Initiative haven’t made it yet. Granted, the statement signed by 100 college presidents – including Pacific Lutheran University’s Loren Anderson – doesn’t come right out and say they want a lower drinking age,….

No more games for drunk Brits

In 2008, 5,000 teenage girls were treated for binge drinking No more games for drunk Brits. In a desperate attempt to stop Brits from drinking excessively, U.K. officials are banning drinking games and all-you-can-drink deals at pubs and clubs that cater to the nation’s growing binge-drinking culture. The crackdown includes outlawing games such as the….