AA Support for Corrections Professionals

What Corrections Professionals Should Know About AA

Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of people whose primary purpose is to stay sober and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. AA support for corrections professionals is provided by AA members voluntarily. AA has no central authority and almost no structural organisation. AA Australia does operate a General Service Office in Sydney (which acts mostly as a clearinghouse for information, Australia-wide) and local central offices in most states.

Corrections professionals, AA members, and those interested in starting a new AA group for people in custody will get help from AA’s General Service Office. G.S.O. will provide the pamphlet “AA in Correctional Facilities,” a Group Handbook and other AA literature.

Many local AA service committees will, upon request, provide informational presentations for your organisation. Sessions can be tailored to meet your needs. A typical agenda might include one or several AA films and a presentation by one or more AA members on “What AA Is and What It Is Not.”

AA wants to work with you

Cooperation with the professional community is an objective of AA and has been since our beginnings.

We are always seeking to strengthen and expand our communication with you, and we welcome your comments and suggestions. They help us to work more effectively with you in achieving our common purpose: to help the alcoholic who still suffers.

AA in correctional facilities

Numerous AA groups are meeting within correctional facilities across Australia. Each operates through a local arrangement between the facility administrators—whether in prisons, work centres, or detention facilities—and nearby AA groups.

One common question from corrections professionals is why people in custody would need AA while incarcerated. The answer lies in the fact that AA offers much more than simply abstaining from alcohol. Often described as a “way of life,” AA provides a programme that has proven effective in helping people live a sober and fulfilling life, both during their time in custody and after their release.

Many individuals in custody are there due to crimes where alcohol abuse plays a significant role. This trend is even more pronounced among young offenders. Corrections professionals frequently observe numerous benefits for those who participate in AA meetings while in custody, noting that these individuals often have a better chance of successfully reintegrating into society upon release.

By participating in the AA programme, individuals not only address their alcohol dependency but also gain tools for building a new, healthier life.

Groups for people in custody

The conditions under which a correctional facility’s AA group operates are set by the facility’s administration. These regulations are mandatory for both AA visitors and attendees inside the facility. Since regulations can vary, AA members need to be specifically informed about the unique rules of each facility they enter. Clear communication between corrections administrators and local AA committees is essential to ensure smooth coordination.

Typically, local AA members sponsor groups within correctional facilities. They work closely with designated personnel from the facility’s administration, as well as with officers of the internal (“inside”) AA group.

Once an AA group within a correctional facility is established and moves beyond its initial stages, it functions much like any other AA group. Aside from scheduled visits from the AA sponsor and guest speakers, there is minimal outside involvement in the group’s regular activities.

Re-entry and parole

Experience shows that when alcoholics who attend AA meetings inside go promptly to AA on the outside, they are likely to stay sober — and free. However, if they put it off until they “get settled,” they may never get to AA… AA can help minimise this risk. Before AA members in custody are actually released, there is usually time to get in touch with AA in the city or town where they plan to live. The inside sponsor and AA contacts can almost always make sure that a real welcome awaits newly free people — as fellow members of AA not former members in custody.

What AA does NOT do

AA does not:

• Furnish initial motivation for alcoholics to recover
• Solicit members
• Engage in or sponsor research
• Keep attendance records or case histories
• Join “councils” or social agencies (although AA members, groups, and service offices frequently cooperate with them)
• Follow up or try to control its members
• Make medical or psychological diagnoses or prognoses
• Provide detox, rehabilitation, or nursing services, hospitalisation, drugs, or any medical or psychiatric treatment
• Offer religious services or host/sponsor retreats
• Engage in education about alcohol
• Provide housing, food, clothing, jobs, money, or any other welfare or social services
• Provide domestic or vocational counselling
• Accept any money for its services or any contributions from non-AA sources
• Provide letters of reference to parole boards, lawyers, court officials, social agencies, employers, etc.

Singleness of Purpose and Issues Beyond Alcohol

Some professionals use terms like “substance abuse” or “chemical dependency” to refer to both alcoholism and drug addiction. As a result, non-alcoholics are sometimes introduced to AA and encouraged to attend meetings.

While non-alcoholics are welcome to attend open AA meetings as observers, only individuals with a drinking problem may attend closed AA meetings.

This material is reproduced with permission from Alcoholics Anonymous Australia. Excerpts from “P-20 A Message to Corrections Professionals” © Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. Available at literature.aa.org.au