Interventions for drug-using offenders with co-occurring mental illness

Area of Science:

• Criminal Justice
• Psychiatry
• Substance Abuse Treatment

Background:

• This review is an update on interventions for drug-using offenders with co-occurring mental illness.
• It is part of a series of reviews on interventions for drug-using offenders.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effectiveness of interventions for drug-using offenders with co-occurring mental illness.
• To determine if interventions reduce criminal activity or drug use.

Main Methods:

• Searched 14 electronic databases and 5 internet resources.
• Included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for drug-using offenders with co-occurring mental illness.
• Collected data on intervention costs and cost-effectiveness.

Main Results:

• Five RCTs with 1502 participants were included.
• Interventions did not significantly reduce self-reported drug use.
• Re-incarceration was significantly reduced (RR 0.40, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.67).
• Re-arrest was not significantly reduced (RR 1.00, 95% CI 0.90 to 1.12).
• Therapeutic communities showed significant reduction in re-incarceration (RR 0.29, 95% CI 0.16 to 0.54).

Conclusions:

• Limited evidence exists for interventions targeting drug-using offenders with co-occurring mental health issues.
• Therapeutic communities and aftercare show promise in reducing re-incarceration.
• More research is needed to evaluate intervention effectiveness for this population.