Research shows methadone, other substance use disorder treatments in jails reduces recidivism

If you provide methadone treatment or other substance-use disorder treatments in jails, will it reduce people from going back to jail? Several University of New Mexico researchers say yes.

Brady Horn, a professor in the Department of Economics, and Paul Guerin, the director of the Center for Applied Research and Analysis (CARA) at the Institute for Social Research (ISR), studied a program within Bernalillo County’s Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) that provides methadone treatment in their jail. The program supplies methadone, a safe replacement for opioids, so inmates can start or continue treatment while behind bars.

“It’s a good place to begin using methadone because you’re physically there, and methadone is taken daily. It’s a liquid dose, typically, and staff go around each morning and give you your dose of methadone,” Guerin said.

During this research, Horn and Guerin were looking into whether treatment behind bars, like methadone, reduces recidivism.

“People who receive methadone maintenance in jails, went back to jail less, which saved New Mexico taxpayers more money in the long run,” Horn says.

Studies show when someone enters the criminal justice system, they’re much more likely to go back. According to other research by CARA, more than 33% of individuals return to jail within six months and 60% within approximately three years. Guerin and Horn believe a big driver of returning to jail is substance-use disorders.

“We understand people commit crimes for a variety of reasons and one of the reasons is because they have substance-use disorders or a mental health disorder,” Guerin said. “That’s why we should be doing things that could reduce people’s future contact with the criminal justice system, and treatment is one of those things we should be focused on.”

People who commit low-level crimes and continue to go back to jail can be expensive. However, providing treatment in the incarceration system is cheaper in the end by reducing future incarceration costs.

“Currently, it costs about $122 a day to keep someone in jail on average, and if they are a client in the psychiatric services unit, this is closer to $175 a day. If we do the math, multiply 122 by 365, it’s a lot, but less expensive to provide them treatment services in the long run.” Guerin said. “It’s less costly to provide them services in jail first, then continue them into the community, than it is to keep them in jail for extended periods because they just end up coming back.”

“Crime is expensive. It’s not just incarceration costs, but also other costs such as costs to victims and pain and suffering associated with crime,” Horn said. “High rates of recidivism are unfortunate and very costly. If we could stop this cycle and stop people from being incarcerated, it would be valuable to society.”

Horn says 10 years ago, there were very few substance-use disorder treatments in the New Mexico prison system. Now, he says there’s been a lot of momentum to get programs in the incarceration system in New Mexico, which has the potential to save taxpayers money. Horn says it isn’t just about the cost but also the human component, wanting to see people improve.

“I’m in favor of programs that can treat substance-use disorders and reduce recidivism. I’m also in favor of changing how we incarcerate people and trying to reduce the cycle of re-offending,” Horn said.

“We want people to understand treatment works,” Guerin said. “If we can serve their needs, we can reduce their risk of committing new crimes.”