Taipei:The proportion of inmates incarcerated for drug-related offenses in Taiwan has decreased significantly over the past five years, dropping from 35.1 percent to 24.8 percent, as reported by the Agency of Corrections. This change is attributed to a policy shift that diverts eligible offenders into community-based addiction treatment programs rather than prison.

According to Focus Taiwan, the government's third-phase New Generation Anti-Drug Strategy Action Plan, which will be implemented from 2025 to 2028, focuses on tiered diversion and diversified treatment approaches. The plan aims to offer deferred prosecution with court-ordered community treatment for individuals whose offenses involve only drug use and who primarily require addiction treatment, thereby avoiding imprisonment.

The policy differentiates offenders involved in violent or serious crimes, who are placed in correctional facilities. This strategy is designed to reduce unnecessary incarceration, alleviate prison overcrowding, and limit interactions between drug users and traffickers, while ensuring that offenders receive treatment tailored to their needs.

Statistics from the agency indicate a consistent decline in the share of inmates imprisoned for drug use offenses: 35.1 percent in 2022, 33.2 percent in 2023, 31.7 percent in 2024, and 27.7 percent in 2025. By the end of June this year, 14,521 inmates were serving sentences for drug-related offenses, making up 24.8 percent of the total prison population of 58,455.

The agency continues to advance a science-based treatment model for drug offenders, collaborating with the Ministry of Health and Welfare to enhance drug addiction treatment services within correctional facilities. Additionally, a Ministry of Justice study cited by the agency found that offenders completing deferred-prosecution addiction treatment had a 66.3 percent lower risk of relapse compared to those who did not participate in such programs. This supports the policy of treating eligible offenders in the community while reserving imprisonment for more severe cases.