Effectiveness of Drug Treatment Programmes in Reducing Criminal Behaviour

The majority of European countries have a drug strategy that aims to reduce drug-related crime. One of the methods commonly used for achieving this is to provide treatment for drug users. In most countries, treatment for drug users is available through conventional medical referral processes. In some countries, treatment is also made available from within the criminal justice system. This can be part of a referral process whereby offenders are diverted at various stages into treatment or treatment can be provided from within the criminal justice system as part of a prison programme. In order for the strategy to be effective, it needs to be demonstrated that treatment for drug misuse can lead to a reduction in crime. This report presents the results of a systematic review of the literature on the effects of different kinds of intervention for problematic drug use on criminal behaviour. The main selection criteria were that the evaluation should be based on voluntary treatment programmes that aimed to reduce drug use (e.g. methadone maintenance, detoxification, or self-help programs) or criminal justice programmes that aimed to reduce drug use and drug- related crime (e.g. drug courts and drug testing programmes).