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Alcohol/Drugs/Gambling
The increased popularity of image enhancing drugs

The most worrying aspect of SIED use, alongside its increased popularity, is that very few users engage with drug treatment agencies or other health services, with the exception of using needle and syringe exchange programmes.

Infographics
What do the police do?

Chief Constable Alex Marshall (the chief exec of the College of Policing) argues that the changing mix of crime means that over the past 10 years, investigating and preventing crime is become more complex with crime such as child abuse and domestic violence taking up much more police time.

Criminal Justice
Evaluating the impact of the Justice Data Lab

I can foresee a situation in the near future where the MoJ links its own funding to participation in the Justice Data Lab and puts pressure on other funders to do the same.

Alcohol/Drugs/Gambling
Preventing drug overdoses

This is the sixth in a blog series based on the findings of the 2015  annual European Drugs Report published by the European

Prison
Women’s prisons are improving

It is notable that women’s prisons, although facing all the problems of having to operate within a male focused system, have largely succeeded in improving the service they provide when conditions in men’s prisons have deteriorated so far, so quickly.

Payment by Results
An analytical framework for payment by results (NAO 6)

Like many of us, the NAO is in a slightly awkward position in regards to payment by results. On the one hand, it is reluctant to recommend that any public programme adopts a PbR approach because there does not, as yet, exist an evidence base that suggests it is an effective commissioning approach.

Alcohol/Drugs/Gambling
Alcohol culture has huge impact on NHS

The 2015 statistics on Alcohol in England report a continuing reduction in our use and abuse of alcohol as a nation. However, it also makes very clear the unprecedented pressure that our over-use is putting on the health service with more and more hospital admissions linked to alcohol use and abuse.

Alcohol/Drugs/Gambling
The latest on synthetic cannabis

It is clear that this group of drugs will be a priority for the EMCDDA to monitor over the coming years and that drug treatment agencies probably need to develop their understanding of legal highs and make sure they advertise that there is help available for those developing problems with their use.

Prison
The shocking state of men’s prisons

It will be interesting to see whether the appointment of Michael Gove as Justice Secretary will have any impact on this parlous state of affairs. Clearly, the problems are becoming so entrenched that it will be difficult for much positive change to take place if, as is widely feared, the MoJ takes another big hit in the current spending review whose results will be announced in November 2015.

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