Sloshed and sentenced: a prevalence study of alcohol use disorders amongst offenders in the North East of England Dorothy Newbury-Birch1, Barbara Harrison2, Nicola Brown1, Eileen Kaner1 1 Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University. 2

1
Sloshed and sentenced a prevalence study of
alcohol use disorders amongst offenders in the
North East of England Dorothy Newbury-Birch1,
Barbara Harrison2, Nicola Brown1, Eileen
Kaner11 Institute of Health and Society,
Newcastle University. 2 National Offender
Management Service (NOMS) Newcastle upon Tyne.

• Subjects and Methods
• Design
• A quantitative prevalence study using anonymous
  questionnaires
• Methods
• Participants from 4 prisons and 3 probation
  offices in the North East voluntarily completed
  the AUDIT questionnaire during a one month period
  in 2006. Response outcomes on AUDIT were compared
  with OASys scores which identify alcohol-related
  need in probation.
• At the time of the study OASys scores were not
  available for offenders in prison.

• Introduction
• The annual cost of alcohol related harm in the UK
  is estimated at between 17.7 and 25.1 billion1.
  
• The costs of alcohol fuelled crime and disorder
  costs around 7.3 billion each year2.
• In the general population 26 of men and women
  (16-64) in England are estimated to have an
  alcohol use disorder3.
• 58 of male and 36 of female prisoners in
  England and Wales in 1997 had an AUD4.

• Results
• 715 questionnaires were completed.
• 63 of men and 57 of women scored positive for
  an AUD.
• A third of all offenders scored in the
  possibly dependent range (20 on AUDIT).
• 41 of probation offenders with an AUD were
  not identified using OASys.
• 10 of clients without an AUD issue were
  identified as having an alcohol- related need
  using the OASys tool alone
• 39 reported that they or someone else had
  been injured as a result of their drinking. 91
  of these were men.
• The prevalence of reported alcohol-related
  injury to either the offender or someone else
  was significantly higher in the probation setting
  (47) than in the prison setting (36) ?2
  8.8df1 p0.003.
• Of the participants in the probation setting
  that reported an injury, 65 reported that this
  had been in the last year compared to 70 in the
  prison setting ?2 0.4df1 p0.51.df

ConclusionsThis study shows that there is a high
prevalence of alcohol use disorders within the
prison and probation setting in the North East of
England with a high percentage of offenders
scoring in the alcohol dependant range.  Although
the AUD prevalence for men is similar to the one
reported in a study of prisoners in 1997, the
percentage of women with an AUD is considerably
higher in this current study (57 to 39
respectively). This present study shows that by
using OASys to assess offender need, there is an
under-identification of AUDs resulting in a lost
opportunity to intervene.  This leaves an
interesting dilemma for the both the prison and
probation services as to whether to identify
health or criminogenic risk as at present the
current systems, at least in the North-East
region, are likely to be failing to identify all
offenders with alcohol related problems. If
offenders were to be screened appropriately using
a validated measure and receive the intervention
that they require it should help to ensure a
reduction in alcohol-related problems and crime.

• References
• 1. Department of Health. (2008) Safe, Sensible,
  Social - Consultation on further action. London
  Department of Health
• Prime Minister's Strategy Unit. (2004) Strategy
  Unit ,Alcohol Harm Reduction Project Interim
  Analytical Report. London Cabinet Office
• 3. Drummond, C et al. (2004) Alcohol needs
  assessment research project (ANARP). The 2004
  national needs assessment for England. London
  Department of Health and the National Treatment
  Agency
• 4. Singleton, N., Farrell, M. and Meltzer, H.
  (1999) Substance misuse among prisoners in
  England and Wales. London Office for National
  Statistics
• This work is currently in press Newbury-Birch D,
  Harrison B, Brown N, Kaner E (2009) Sloshed and
  Sentenced A prevalence study of alcohol use
  disorders amongst
• offenders in the North East of England.
  International Journal of Prisoner Health. The
  North East ROM funded this piece of research