The paper discusses relation between the quasi-compulsory treatment and the security detention and risks associated with shortcomings in the current system of recording and reporting data on their application. It describes a development of legal provisions regulating conditions for the imposition of both measures and points out the gradual extension of these conditions in regard to the security detention. It explains why the current official databases containing criminal justice data cannot provide reliable, accurate and comprehensive information on the use of quasi-compulsory treatment and security detention. It uses data gathered from different sources in the framework of recent research by IKSP to show to what extent official data differ from reality. Final part of the paper discusses the possible future changes in application of both measures and emphasizes the importance to improve current official databases for getting reliable grounds for such considerations.
Experts working with data on crime, victims and offenders, or the criminal justice system, have been drawing attention to the shortcomings in their recording and reporting systems. Such shortcomings result in a biased or incomplete depiction of crime statistics and trends as well as sentencing, which can have a negative impact on how penal policy is formulated and assessed. Current efforts to revise official crime statistics aim to unify and integrate the information systems of the different criminal justice institutions that generate such data. However, these systems do not only vary across different departments but also within the same department or even institution. The authors use the findings from their recent study in which they analyzed the current system for recording and reporting data on violent sexual crime and the application of quasi-compulsory treatment and security detention. They illustrate the complexity of the issue, highlighting some characteristic shortcomings of official crime statistics, and put forth some of the practical implications for our understanding of crime and criminal justice and the penal policy-making process.
The Institute of Criminology and Social Prevention in Prague is currently carrying out research focused on therapeutic treatment programs implemented in specialised departments for drug users in Czech prisons. Description of the specialised departments’ operation and particular implemented treatment programs forms an important part of the research. For this purpose, an analysis of official documents and statistical data from the Czech Prison Service was performed, and semi-structured interviews with staff working in specialised departments for drug users were conducted. The paper summarizes findings from this part of the research and offers an insight into the functioning of this key component of drug policy in the Czech prison system. Voluntary prison-based drug treatment is available in eight prisons in the Czech Republic. The overall capacity is almost 300 persons. Specialised departments for court-ordered treatment operate in three prisons; the capacity is approximately 130 persons. Interviews with 22 workers were conducted between November 2016 and January 2017. Special programs for drug users in prisons are perceived as a potentially promising tool in the prevention of recidivism. Programs are well established; however, there are some differences stemming from the form of treatment (voluntary/compulsory). Staff capacity, lack of out-of-prison activities, lack of program standardization, and lack of systematic evaluation are perceived as the main areas for improvement.
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