// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
More than third of deaths of ex-prisoners on probation drug related, says report
The report's author Dr Robert Jones says there is a lack of debate about finding a solution to the problem of drug-related deaths
More than a third of deaths of former prisoners on probation in Wales in a year were drug related, according to a new report.
The Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University, which has published the report, is urging politicians to tackle "systematic failures" in the criminal justice system.
The deaths figure is higher than the proportion recorded across England and Wales as a whole, where deaths in this category accounted for just over a fifth of the total.
Report author Dr Robert Jones called on the UK and Welsh governments to find a solution to the "tragic" situation.
The Welsh government said it was working to reduce "harms caused by substance misuse".
The UK government said it was spending £3.4m on services to help support prison leavers overcome addiction.
According to the report, 37% of all deaths among prison leavers supervised by probation in Wales in 2024-25 were drug related.
The number of drug poisonings where the intent was "undetermined" in Wales accounted for 19 of the 52 who died.
Jones said this was "substantially higher" than the proportion across England and Wales as a whole, where deaths in this same category accounted for just over a fifth (21%) of the total - 131 out of 620.