Drug and Alcohol misuse is an ongoing issue for offenders.
Addressing offenders’ drug and alcohol issues contributes to the Department’s core business of improving sentence compliance and reducing re-offending, which helps us to achieve our vision of improved public safety.
This is the fourth Drug and Alcohol Strategy the Department has produced. Over the past few years we have invested in new resources to help staff reduce prisoners’ misuse of drugs and alcohol.
For example, we have doubled the number of Drug Detection Dog Teams since 2004 and doubled the number of Drug Treatment Units in prisons since 2007.
As a result of this investment we are now better at preventing drugs and alcohol getting into prisons and we have increased the number of prisoners receiving intensive drug and alcohol treatment.
This year the Government has given us funding to double the number of prisoners receiving drug and alcohol treatment. This will increase annual participation from 500 to 1,000 prisoners.
To achieve this we will be building three new Drug Treatment Units, and introducing condensed alcohol and drug treatment programmes so that those prisoners serving shorter sentences can attend.
Over the next few years we will also be building on our success and ensuring that we are getting the best value from our
investment. We will reduce the harm created by offenders’ drug and alcohol misuse through:
and services in prisons and in the community
We also need support from our partners in government and in the community such as District Health Services, the Ministry of
Health, New Zealand Police, the New Zealand Customs Service, and Maori.
By sharing resources and expertise we will be more effective at achieving our mutual goal of reducing drug and alcohol related harm in our communities.
Barry Matthews
Chief Executive