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Prison Service
Richard Baker (Labour) | Question S3W-40241
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of prisoners (a) was assessed as having a drug addiction and (b) received support for this in prison in 2010, broken down by prison.
Kenny MacAskill (Scottish National Party)
I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:
This information is not available regarding the proportion of all prisoners with drug/alcohol problems. Prisoners do take the opportunity to disclose problems to the prison health services and have access to addiction services to address their needs. Prisoners serving over 31 days in custody, identified with a substance misuse problem, are offered a comprehensive substance misuse assessment.
The following table shows the number of assessments completed against the proportion of referrals made to the Enhanced Addiction Casework Service (EACS); and the number of interventions delivered in 2009-10:
| Prison | Prisoners | Total Assessed | No Interventions Delivered | |||
| No Referred to EACS | % Assessed for Drug Misuse | % Assessed for Alcohol Misuse | % Assessed for Drugs & Alcohol Misuse | |||
| Aberdeen | 306 | 47.06% (144) | 15.03% (46) | 2.61% (8) | 64.71% (198) | 934 |
| Barlinnie | 731 | 40.63% (297) | 29.69% (217) | 8.62% (63) | 78.93% (577) | 2,385 |
| Cornton Vale | 515 | 74.37% (383) | 17.67% (91) | 1.75% (9) | 93.79% (483) | 3,391 |
| Dumfries | 216 | 37.04% (80) | 32.87% (71) | 10.65% (23) | 80.56% (174) | 1,248 |
| Edinburgh | 748 | 52.01% (389) | 15.24% (114) | 3.48% (26) | 70.72% (529) | 3,118 |
| Glenochil | 334 | 39.82% (133) | 25.75% (86) | 4.49% (15) | 70.06% (234) | 2,410 |
| Greenock | 379 | 41.95% (159) | 22.16% (84) | 5.28% (20) | 69.39% (263) | 2,996 |
| Inverness | 210 | 39.05 (82) | 36.19% (76) | 7.14% (15) | 82.38% (173) | 900 |
| Prison | Prisoners | Total Assessed | Number of Interventions Delivered | |||
| No Referred to EACS | % Assessed for Drug Misuse | % Assessed for Alcohol Misuse | % Assessed for Drugs & Alcohol Misuse | |||
| Open Estate | 280 | 31.79% (89) | 27.86% (78) | 0.36% (1) | 60% (168) | 3,148 |
| Perth | 597 | 47.57% (284) | 18.09% (108) | 3.69% (22) | 69.35% (414) | 2,477 |
| Peterhead | 100 | 18% (18) | 28% (28) | 0 | 46% (46) | 662 |
| Polmont | 478 | 34.73% (166) | 57.11% (273) | 4.60% (22) | 96.44% (461) | 3,458 |
| Shotts | 126 | 65.08% (82) | 14.29% (18) | 0.79% (1) | 80.16% (101) | 1,515 |
| Total | 5,020 | 45.94% (2306) | 25.70% (1290) | 4.48% (225) | 76.12% (3821) | 28,642 |
The number of interventions does not correspond with the number who were assessed as a prisoner can attend more than one intervention, based on their assessed need as detailed within their community integration plan (CIP).
It should be noted that data relating to assessments carried out for both drugs and alcohol only began being collated in April 2010.
Every prisoner who is admitted to custody goes through an initial health screening by a nurse. Prisoners are all asked about historical and current substance misuse to ascertain immediate clinical need.