Rebecca Askew

Adding Spice to the Porridge: The development of a synthetic cannabinoid market in an English prison.

BACKGROUND In 2014, the annual report of the Her Majestys Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMIP) for England and Wales raised concerns regarding New Psychoactive Substance (NPS) use in custody, specifically the consumption of synthetic cannabinoids. To date, however, the use of these substances in prison populations, and the markets that have emerged to facilitate it, have been under-researched. METHODS Our research was conducted in an English adult male prison using multi-method techniques. These included: in-depth interviews and focus groups with prison staff and prisoners; observations of prisoner-led focus groups, workshops and restorative justice circles involving discussion of synthetic cannabinoid use and markets; and analysis of routinely collected prison data measuring drug seizures, incidents of violence and incidents of self-harm. RESULTS The findings highlight: (1) the scale and nature of synthetic cannabinoid markets in a custodial setting and the motivations for establishing them; (2) the nature and motivations for synthetic cannabinoids use in prison; and (3) the impact synthetic cannabinoid markets in this setting have upon prisoners, the prison system and the wider criminal justice system. The policy implications of the stated motivations for use and reported problems are discussed in relation to both prison and community settings, and the recently implemented Psychoactive Substance Act (2016). CONCLUSION The paper concludes that the rise in synthetic cannabinoid use in custody and the size of the drug market are posing significant challenges to the management of offenders; including healthcare, appropriate detection techniques, license recall and sanctions for both use and supply. We argue that the primary motivation for consumption in this setting is the avoidance of drug use detection, and that this is likely to supersede other motivations for consumption in the future. We propose a revision of the use of mandatory drug tests (MDTs) both in prisons and in the management of offenders in the community.

Responsible Citizens and Accountable Service Providers? Renegotiating The Contract Between Citizen and State

New forms of governance, conditional approaches to public service access, and initiatives to engage citizens in taking on new responsibilities are being developed in the context of the scaling down of the welfare state. We examine the extent to which collaboration and multidirectional accountability can be developed between the state and citizens, with a focus on a case study of Community Contracts in England. These quasi-legal agreements, operationalised at the local level, involve citizens and service providers cooperating in tackling social problems through agreed responsibilities and behaviour. Findings from interviews and focus group research suggest that Community Contracts represent an innovation in governance. Citizens are given a voice and there are new pathways for effective service delivery and accountability; conditionality applies to citizens and service providers. However, although there was evidence of increased service accountability, the impact on civic responsibility and conditionality beyond already active citizens and beyond certain issues was less apparent. Although citizens and service providers were ready to take on new roles, the legal status of the contract was only loosely defined. Challenges remain concerning how contract-based approaches can be fully realised in practice.

Status, stigma and stereotype: How drug takers and drug suppliers avoid negative labelling by virtue of their ‘conventional’ and ‘law-abiding’ lives:

A minority of those who consume or supply illegal drugs are detected and subsequently punished for breaching these laws. Thus, only a minority of active ‘drug offenders’ are ever formally subjected to criminal sanctioning, the criminal label, its stigmatizing effects and the resultant collateral consequences. The current article analyses data from two studies on drug offenders – a sample of 26 users and a sample of 25 suppliers – who form part of the ‘silent majority’ of drug offenders whose offending behaviour goes largely unnoticed and unpunished. Both sets of actors are what we consider ‘law-abiding’ criminals insofar as their regular criminal transgressions are not reflected in the ways broader society, their immediate networks, nor they, view themselves. We argue that the perceived risks posed to their conventional commitments and roles ensure their careful management and subversion of behaviour and information that might otherwise be indicative of their drug offending. Yet, at the same time, we argue that these conventional roles provide sufficient protection that their crimes go unnoticed or, if detected, unpunished. Our conclusions support Mohammed and Fritsvold’s notion of the ‘silent majority’ that only a minority of those that use and supply illicit substances drug offenders are subject to the law, and the collateral consequences of a criminal and deviant label. We argue more research needs to be conducted with these hidden groups to help reduce the inequities, stigmas and stereotypes that befall the subsection of those who are routinely policed, sanctioned and studied.