A rapid systematic review of what we know about alcohol use disorders and brief interventions in the criminal justice system
Open accessAbstract
PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to review the evidence of alcohol use disorders within the different stages of the criminal justice system in the UK. Furthermore it reviewed the worldwide evidence of alcohol brief interventions in the various stages of the criminal justice system. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A rapid systematic review of publications was conducted from the year 2000 to 2014 regarding the prevalence of alcohol use disorders in the various stages of the criminal justice system. The second part of the work was a rapid review of effectiveness studies of interventions for alcohol brief interventions. Studies were included if they had a comparison group. Worldwide evidence was included that consisted of up to three hours of face-to-face brief intervention either in one session or numerous sessions. FINDINGS: This review found that 64-88 per cent of adults in the police custody setting; 95 per cent in the magistrate court setting; 53-69 per cent in the probation setting and 5,913-863 per cent in the prison system and 64 per cent of young people in the criminal justice system in the UK scored positive for an alcohol use disorder. There is very little evidence of effectiveness of brief interventions in the various stages of the criminal justice system mainly due to the lack of follow-up data. SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Brief alcohol interventions have a large and robust evidence base for reducing alcohol use in risky drinkers, particularly in primary care settings. However, there is little evidence of effect upon drinking levels in criminal justice settings. Whilst the approach shows promise with some effects being shown on alcohol-related harm as well as with young people in the USA, more robust research is needed to ascertain effectiveness of alcohol brief interventions in this setting. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This paper provides evidence of alcohol use disorders in the different stages of the criminal justice system in the UK using a validated tool as well as reviewing the worldwide evidence for short ( < three hours) alcohol brief intervention in this setting.
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Research on the effectiveness of SBIRT with criminal justice populations is limited.
“research on the effectiveness of SBIRT with populations involved in the criminal justice system is limited”
From A randomized study of the use of screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) for drug and alcohol use with jail inmates (2017) · cites this paper as Newbury-Birch et al., 2016
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- Authors
- Newbury-Birch, D., McGovern, R., Birch, J., O'Neill, G., Kaner, H., Sondhi, A., & Lynch, K.
- Affiliations
- Newcastle University (GB)
- Public Health England (GB)
- Venue
- International Journal of Prisoner Health
- Publisher
- Emerald
- Published
- 2016-03-14
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 57-70
- ISSN
- 1744-9200 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2294560650
- Cited by
- 48
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 5
- FWCI
- 0.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Prisoner Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- TeesRep (Teesside University) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Newcastle University ePrints (Newcastle Univesity) (cc-by)
- Funders
- Medical Research Council (MR/K02325X/1)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Alcohol Consumption and Health Effects
- Keywords
- alcoholism, brief intervention, criminal justice system, prisons, probation, police custody, magistrates' courts, intervention effectiveness, alcohol-related harm, juvenile offenders
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Criminal Law, Female, Humans, Male, Prisons, Alcohol-Related Disorders, Harm Reduction, Young Adult
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