The Wolverhampton Prolific and Other Priority Offenders' Programme

This article considers the increasing involvement of the criminal justice system within substance misuse treatment services, through the example of the Prolific and Other Priority Offenders' treatment programme. It outlines some of the inherent potential professional conflicts that this generates and how these have been overcome, at the local level, to progress multi-agency working with the criminal justice system. The article is written as a descriptive presentation of good practice, with the intention of reassuring other treatment professionals that if the necessary changes are managed appropriately, professional obligations can be maintained, with the resulting service development benefiting both the clients and the community as a whole. Although the article is written from a nursing perspective, it is equally applicable to other health and social care professionals working within substance misuse treatment.