Offender alcohol interventions: minding the policy gap

This paper provides a methodological review of a piece of qualitative policy research formulating recommendations for the commissioning and delivery of offender alcohol interventions, for application both within the English region for which it was commissioned, and more widely. It begins by providing some background information on why and how the research was initiated. It then provides a detailed summary of the methods utilised. These were characterised by sustained engagement with diverse stakeholders and the iterative identification of both findings and recommendations. The authors will conclude with a discussion of the validity and possible application of the method adopted to policy research and service development in the field of dual diagnosis and complex needs, particularly in circumstances where impasse at the levels of policy and local strategy is matched with unmet need within a target population.