Prison drug treatment in Denmark: A historical outline and an analysis of the political debate
Sammanfattning
AIMS – The article outlines the historical development of prison drug treatment (PDT) in Denmark
in order to understand the present situation where PDT is viewed as a natural benign practice. We
also identify the different rationales within the political debate on PDT since its rapid expansion
in 2000. DATA – Historical and policy documents, grey literature, interviews with key informants
in the field. RESULTS – Four historical periods are identified, from a period when drug treatment
was unwelcome in prisons to a re-emergence of the rehabilitation ideal over the last 15 years,
when PDT appears unquestioned and its popularity has exploded. Five dissimilar and at times
conflicting rationales have been present in the political debate legitimising this policy shift.
CONCLUSION – Part of the popularity of PDT stems from the fact that it has been used in political
debates in order to justify a range of different and even conflicting objectives. With changing penal
discourse, PDT may again become unwanted in prison settings