Drugs, prisons and policy-making.

The drugs issue in prisons and the making of prison drugs policy have become global concerns. Drugs, Prisons and Policy-Making offers the first detailed account of the history of drugs policy in the English prison system since 1980. It has developed from empirical research which involved documentary analysis and interviews with key actors in the policy process, including senior civil servants, directors of drug agencies and penal reform groups, and spokespersons from professional associations. Drawing on concepts, theories and research from a variety of disciplines including criminology, social policy, sociology and public administration, Karen Duke examines how poicy networks have attempted to contain the tensions, contradictions, and convergences between theraputic and control ideologies in relation to drugs in the prison environment. She explores how their activities have been shaped by the ways in which the drugs issue is famed and defined, the roles of research, evidence and knowledge in the policy process, and the impact of wider social, political and institutional contexts. Contents: • Analysing prison drugs policy: problems, networks and contexts • 1980-1986: Prelude to policy development • 1986-1993: The HIV/AIDS crisis and fears of contamination • 1993-1997: Coming clean and taking control? • 1997: Eradication to realism? • Conclusions: Shifting agendas and policy network