The alcohol treatment needs of violent and non-violent prisoners

In 2004, HM Prison Service launched an alcohol strategy that promotes treatment of alcohol-related problems in imprisoned offenders. In commissioning services for prisoners, the needs of any prison population must first be established. The purpose of this study was to establish the need for an alcohol intervention in a local prison and to explore whether there might be a need to address alcohol-related violence, rather than simply looking at alcohol misuse. The research identified the extent of the need for alcohol interventions in a UK prison for men, concluding that in this sample those who had also committed violent index offences might require interventions that specifically target alcohol-related violence.