This report presents the systematic review protocol for a literature review of studies focusing on the effectiveness of incarceration-based drug treatment programs in reducing recidivism and drug use.
This updated Campbell systematic review examines the effectiveness incarceration-based drug treatment interventions in reducing postrelease recidivism and drug use. The review summarises findings from 74 studies, 65 of which were conducted in the United States, four in Canada, three in Australia, one in Taiwan and one in the United Kingdom.
The main evidence presented in this review suggests that the effectiveness of treatment programs varies by the type of treatment. These findings most strongly support the effectiveness of therapeutic communities, as these programs produced relatively consistent reductions in recidivism and drug use. Boot camps have no effect on either outcome.
These conclusions should be read with caution given the limited number of such evaluations and general methodological weakness. Therapeutic community programs were the only programs to consistently show modest reductions in recidivism and drug relapse however, there is evidence of publication bias that could have over-estimated its effectiveness. Given all these shortcomings, further evidence regarding the effectiveness of this type of intervention is needed.
(Publisher abstract provided.)