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Purpose. Research in the area of i njecting risk behavi our among drug users in prison is increasing; this paper attempts to rectify the paucity of research on risk behavi our of prisoners after release. This study also assesses the impact of both in-prison and community drug services on injecting ri sk behaviour after release. Methods. This longitudinal study looked at the risk behavi our of a cohort of ex-prisoners in Edinburgh, Scotland. Two foll ow-up i nterviews were carried out after release from pri son, invol ving 56 and 40 partici pants respectively. This study built on an in-prison evaluation of a drug reduction programme, and suYcient numbers were recrui ted to compare an i ntervention and a control group. Results. There was some evidence of an ini tial flurry of i njecting risk behaviour among participants soon after release, with a minori ty reporting injecting after release from prison, but over time patterns of i njecting were variable. There was a l ow inci dence of sharing inj ecting equipment. Generally, and perhaps contrary to expectation, post-release ri sk behaviour among the present sampl e was relatively low. Neither community-based nor i n-prison drug treatment programmes were found to have a major eVect on patterns of drug use. Conclusions. Caution should be observed when generalizing from the data obtai ned in this study. That said, focusing specifically on the peri od after release as a situational factor in increased injecting risk among drug users has indicated that more enduring l ocal factors may be just as influential on levels of risk behavi our. Contact with neither in-prison nor community drug services was predictive of lower risk behavi our. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]