Summary
Aim
This bulletin discusses the policy and ethical implications raised by legally coercing drug offenders into drug treatment in the community and providing compulsory treatment within the prison system.
Abstract
This bulletin discusses the policy and ethical implications raised by legally coercing drug offenders into drug treatment in the community and providing compulsory treatment within the prison system. The bulletin briefly summarises the case for legally coerced drug treatment, describes the different approaches that have been used to implement it, discusses the ethical issues raised by different types of legally coerced drug treatment, and summarises the evidence on the effectiveness of community-based drug treatment with and without legal coercion. The case for, and evidence on, the effectiveness of providing voluntary drug treatment in prisons is then considered. Finally, in the light of the evidence reviewed, the bulletin discusses the NSW Compulsory Drug Treatment Corrections Centre and the challenges in evaluating its effectiveness.