Drug users in police custody are least likely to reach out to anonymous telephone helplines and internet resources to combat their drug habit, a new study has revealed.
It comes at a time when methamphetamine use, and how best to reduce its scourge on WA, becomes a major policy focus for the two main political parties in the lead up to the state election.
Last year the State Government established a new confidential methamphetamine telephone helpline for drug users and their families.
In November, the government said the helpline had received more than 1200 calls in the first 10 weeks of operation.
WA Labor meanwhile has launched a Methamphetamine Action Plan ahead of the March election, which includes the setting up of dedicated drug and alcohol rehabilitation prisons for users.
But a new new study, based on interviews with more than 300 drug users in police custody, has provided a fresh insight into exactly what services they would use to get help.
The study is by the Australian Institute of Criminology DUMA research team, the biggest and longest-running ongoing survey of Australian police detainees.
A total of 312 police detainees who used drugs in the past 12 months were interviewed in 2014 at police lock ups in WA, NSW, Queensland and South Australia. It found:
- Detainees who were employed reported lower levels of readiness to change their drug use than those who were not.
- Those who were in a relationship with someone reported higher levels of readiness to change than those not in a relationship.
- Detainees said they would most likely seek help for their drug problem from doctors or a general practitioner (66%), followed by a romantic partner (64%).
- They were less likely to seek help from the internet (35%) and anonymous telephone helplines (27%).
- Almost a quarter of those surveyed (24%) had completed a TAFE program. A small number (3%) had completed a university degree.
Researchers say the findings demonstrate "the need and desire for drug interventions among the police detainee population" and that "intimate relationships" could also play a key role in motivating individuals to change their drug use behaviour.
"The relatively high levels of readiness to change reported by police detainees who use drugs suggests...the majority of detainees would be receptive to intervention efforts," the study paper said.
"Based on their reported intentions, detainees are most likely to engage with sources of help that involve face-to-face interaction.
"The data suggests illicit drug intervention strategies involving face-to-face interactions with healthcare professionals in a custodial setting would be well received by drug-dependent police detainees."
Federal Justice Minister Michael Keenan, who will release the study paper on Wednesday, said the findings would greatly assist authorities in the near future.
"Determining where detainees are likely to seek help to change their drug use, assists state governments' efforts to develop intervention strategies aimed at reducing drug use among offenders and to target treatment programs that are successful in preventing recidivism," he said.
"(But) as I have always said, we cannot arrest our way out of Australia's illicit drug problem. To break a drug dealer's business model we must also smash demand."
