The Research, Development and Statistics Directorate RDS is part of the Home Office. The Home Office's purpose is to build a safe, just and tolerant society in which the rights and responsibilities of individuals, families and communities are properly balanced and the protection and security of the public are maintained. RDS is also a part of the Government Statistical Service (GSS). One of the GSS aims is to inform Parliament and the citizen about the state of the nation and provide a window on the work and performance of government, allowing the impact of government policies and actions to be assessed. Therefore-Research Development and Statistics Directorate exists to improve policy making, decision taking and practice in support of the Home Office purpose and aims, to provide the public and Parliament with information necessary for informed debate and to publish information for future use.

This article contributes to the literature on drug users, victimization and offending using data on 545 dependent drug users entering treatment in four European countries. Members of the sample were exposed to high levels of criminal victimization. Sub-groups who were particularly vulnerable to crime were women (and especially sex workers), the homeless, recent offenders and those with a history of poor mental health. Multivariate analysis indicated that frequent drug use, recent offending and histories of depression and anxiety were significantly predictive of violent victimization, and only gender and a history of anxiety were significantly predictive of property victimization. The article discusses how these findings relate to theoretical approaches to victimization, in both positivist and critical frameworks. K E Y

Despite the rapid expansion of options to coerce drug-dependent offenders into treatment -culminating recently in the provisions of the Drugs Act 2005 and the government's 'Tough Choices' agenda -research findings to date are equivocal about their impact in reducing crime. This paper presents UK findings from a pan-European study on this issue. The results -at both national and international levels -reveal that court-mandated clients reported significant and sustained reductions in illicit drug use and offending behaviours, and improvements in other areas of social functioning. Those entering the same treatment services through non-criminal justice routes also reported similar reductions and improvements. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of recent policy developments.

This paper reports on intake data from Quasi-Compulsory Treatment in Europe, a study of quasi-compulsory treatment (QCT) for drug dependent offenders. It explores the link between formal legal coercion, perceived pressure to be in treatment and motivation amongst a sample of 845 people who entered treatment for drug dependence in five European countries, half of them in quasi-compulsory treatment and half ‘voluntarily’. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, it suggests that those who enter treatment under QCT do perceive greater pressure to be in treatment, but that this does not necessarily lead to higher or lower motivation than ‘volunteers’. Many drug-dependent offenders value QCT as an opportunity to get treatment. Motivation is mutable and can be developed or diminished by the quality of support and services offered to drug-dependent offenders.

In the first year of the pilot 'Payment by Results for Drugs Recovery' scheme in England, linking payments to outcomes reduced the probability of completing drug misuse treatment and increased the proportion service users declining to continue with treatment.