Sloshed and sentenced: a prevalence study of alcohol use disorders amongst offenders in the North East of England Dorothy Newbury-Birch 1, Barbara Harrison 2, Nicola Brown 1, Eileen Kaner 1 1 Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University. 2 National Offender Management Service (NOMS) Newcastle upon Tyne. Introduction The annual cost of alcohol related harm in the UK is estimated at between £17.7 and £25.1 billion 1. The costs of alcohol fuelled crime and disorder costs around £7.3 billion each year 2. In the general population 26% of men and women (16-64) in England are estimated to have an alcohol use disorder 3. 58% of male and 36% of female prisoners in England and Wales in 1997 had an AUD 4. Subjects and Methods Design: A quantitative prevalence study using anonymous questionnaires Methods: Participants from 4 prisons and 3 probation offices in the North East voluntarily completed the AUDIT questionnaire during a one month period in Response outcomes on AUDIT were compared with OASys scores which identify alcohol-related need in probation. At the time of the study OASys scores were not available for offenders in prison. Results  715 questionnaires were completed.  63% of men and 57% of women scored positive for an AUD.  A third of all offenders scored in the possibly dependent range (20+ on AUDIT).  41% of probation offenders with an AUD were not identified using OASys.  10% of clients without an AUD issue were identified as having an alcohol- related need using the OASys tool alone  39% reported that they or someone else had been injured as a result of their drinking. 91% of these were men.  The prevalence of reported alcohol-related injury to either the offender or someone else was significantly higher in the probation setting (47%) than in the prison setting (36%) [χ 2 8.8;df=1; p=0.003].  Of the participants in the probation setting that reported an injury, 65% reported that this had been in the last year compared to 70% in the prison setting [χ 2 0.4;df=1; p=0.51].df Conclusions This study shows that there is a high prevalence of alcohol use disorders within the prison and probation setting in the North East of England with a high percentage of offenders scoring in the alcohol dependant range. Although the AUD prevalence for men is similar to the one reported in a study of prisoners in 1997, the percentage of women with an AUD is considerably higher in this current study (57% to 39% respectively). This present study shows that by using OASys to assess offender need, there is an under-identification of AUDs resulting in a lost opportunity to intervene. This leaves an interesting dilemma for the both the prison and probation services as to whether to identify health or criminogenic risk as at present the current systems, at least in the North-East region, are likely to be failing to identify all offenders with alcohol related problems. If offenders were to be screened appropriately using a validated measure and receive the intervention that they require it should help to ensure a reduction in alcohol-related problems and crime. References 1. Department of Health. (2008) Safe, Sensible, Social - Consultation on further action. London: Department of Health 2.Prime Minister's Strategy Unit. (2004) Strategy Unit,Alcohol Harm Reduction Project: Interim Analytical Report. London: Cabinet Office 3.Drummond, C et al. (2004) Alcohol needs assessment research project (ANARP). The 2004 national needs assessment for England. London: Department of Health and the National Treatment Agency 4.Singleton, N., Farrell, M. and Meltzer, H. (1999) Substance misuse among prisoners in England and Wales. London: Office for National Statistics This work is currently in press: Newbury-Birch D, Harrison B, Brown N, Kaner E (2009) Sloshed and Sentenced: A prevalence study of alcohol use disorders amongst offenders in the North East of England. International Journal of Prisoner Health. The North East ROM funded this piece of research