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Protecting lives: a cross-system approach to addressing alcohol and drug-related deaths within the criminal justice system

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Protecting lives: a cross-system approach to addressing alcohol and drug-related deaths within the criminal justice system (PDF, 483.5 KB)

The scale of drug and alcohol misuse in the criminal justice system is significant and both directly and indirectly leads to deaths in custody.

It impacts those in custody and the staff who are asked to provide for their care. When individuals are released into the community, support is often not available or accessed. These concerns are occurring against the backdrop of a rising number of drug deaths in England and Wales.

This paper presents the findings of joint research carried out by the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody (IAPDC) and the Royal College of General Practitioners2 (RCGP) into these issues.