The Czech Republic Annual Report 2010 Drug ... - Drogy-info.cz

Republic for the Period 2011–2012 foresees that the level of the drug policy measures achieved will be stabilised
and their quality maintained.
11.2.2 Cooperation with Non-Governmental Organisations
NGOs make up the largest group of external providers of drug services in prisons; they operate in 32 of the 36
prisons. There are 15 NGOs involved, six of which provide their services in an intensive form; for details see the
regular chapter on Responses to Drug-related Health Issues in Prisons (p. 128). One of the tasks arising for the
Prison Service from the 2010–2012 Action Plan is to develop a methodology for the provision of drug services in
prison by external providers. The Prison Service is working with the representatives of the A.N.O. Section for Drug
Services in Prison to develop this methodology.
11.3 Provision of Drug-Related Health Services in Prison
Whether or not a prisoner is a drug user is identified immediately upon the commencement of their prison term or
remand period during the initial medical examination, the procedure for which is defined by Order of the Minister of
Justice No. 4/2008 regarding the provision of healthcare to persons on remand or serving their prison sentence,
which specifies that, among other data, information about smoking and other habits, in particular alcohol or drug
addiction, should be determined as part of the person’s medical history. Screening tests are also performed to
identify any infectious diseases. Physical somatic examinations then focus on determining any external marks of
drug use (needle marks, phlegmona, or phlebitis). This information becomes a part of the medical records, which are
available to the healthcare staff and to a clearly defined circle of persons but not to the expert staff members working
at the prison wing (psychologist, therapist, special education professional, social worker, educator) who provide or
participate in drug-related interventions. Information about drug use by the prisoner is therefore identified again, after
the initial medical examination is performed, by such professionals through interviews, on the basis of which a
comprehensive report on the offender is prepared 122 . The interviews are conducted separately by a psychologist, a
social worker, and a special education professional. Repeated queries by various professionals may help verify the
credibility of the information obtained from the prisoner. A prisoner management programme (sentence plan) is
prepared on the basis of the comprehensive report; this programme includes its objective(s) and the set of
corresponding activities, the performance of which becomes the obligation of the offender. The information that the
prisoners provide about their drug use is used in the area of reducing the demand for drugs, as well as reducing their
supply. The Prison Service is responsible for observing all the statutory conditions applicable to serving a prison
sentence or remand period. It therefore uses the available legal means to enforce the prohibited production,
possession, and consumption of alcohol and other drugs by offenders.
The records regarding imprisoned drug users are maintained by the healthcare centre of the relevant prison for the
purposes of providing healthcare. Other information about the clients using the drug services is collected centrally at
the level of the General Directorate of the Prison Service but each professional centre keeps its own records. 123
Each intervention (both individual and group) provided to a prisoner is entered in the personal records but a general
and centralised overview of the interventions provided in the individual professional centres is still lacking. The Prison
Service is currently addressing the issue seriously – an instrument is being developed for the keeping of centralised
records of the activities and other facts regarding the implementation of the drug policy. However important the
various combined statistics are, it is necessary to ensure that the staff delivering the drug-related services in prison
are not overloaded with excessive record-keeping tasks and that the records are not kept at the expense of the
provision of such services to the offenders.
11.3.1 Services Provided to Drug Users in Prisons
As a standard, the comprehensive report is used to give each prisoner a choice from the options offered by the
prisoner management programme. The activities of the management programme are divided into work, educational,
special educational, and leisure activities. The prisoner can therefore choose to participate in various regular
activities aimed at drug-related prevention, among other factors. These activities are most typically conducted in
groups but the individual form is also common. The drug prevention counselling centre is usually in charge of
providing the prisoners with information about the individual drug-related activities in the prison concerned.
Services for drug users are predominantly provided through dedicated professional centres, which include
specialised wings for court-ordered compulsory treatment and specialised wings where persons with a personality or
behavioural disorder caused by substance abuse serve their sentences (voluntary treatment departments); these
dedicated treatment departments are therapeutic centres in their nature and they apply the principles of a therapeutic
community in their practice. In addition, the specialised professional centres also include drug prevention counselling
centres and drug-free zones. Other healthcare services for drug users include substitution therapy and detoxification.
122
The comprehensive report is the summary of the findings of the psychological, educational and, if applicable, medical assessments
and of other available documents regarding the prisoner; the content of the report is confidential.
123
It is the task for the period 2011-2012 to determine the monitored indicators for clients using the drug services and to set up their
integrated records within the Prison Service as a whole.
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