A new report from Nacro recommends that much more be done to reduce the risk of people dying following their release from prison.
The number of post-release deaths is currently significantly higher than before the pandemic. Prison leavers today are 72% more likely to die within two weeks of release than those released between 2019 – 20 and 28% more likely to die within a year.
Drug-related deaths are the largest cause of preventable deaths among prison leavers, accounting for 40% of deaths within the year after release — around three people every week. Likewise, homelessness remains a major risk factor in post-release deaths, with as many as a third of all deaths in the two weeks post-release being among people who were released into homelessness.
The report identifies the need for better substance misuse treatment on the day of release, improved connections between prison and community services, and robust action to reduce prison leaver homelessness.
It makes four key recommendations:
- Opioid treatment: All people released from prison with an opioid misuse problem should be offered opioid substitution treatment (OST) on their day of release.
- Naloxone*: The Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health and Social Care should set and meet a consistent national standard for the distribution of naloxone on release.
- Access to healthcare: The Department of Health and Social Care should work with the Prisons and Probation Service to ensure that everyone released from prison is registered with a GP and able to access immediate care.
- Prison-leaver homelessness: The Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government should set out a joint plan to meet their target of halving the proportion of people leaving prison homeless
To read the full report, click here.
* Naloxone is a life-saving emergency medicine used to quickly reverse opioid overdoses by blocking drugs like heroin, fentanyl, and morphine.