This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
New alternatives to custody for drug offenders
28/10/2003
Every sheriff court inScotlandwill have access to Drug Testing and Treatment Orders
(DTTOs) as an option when dealing with drug related crime,
a conference of drugs workers were told today.
The DTTO is a disposal for offenders who might
otherwise receive a custodial sentence and aims to reduce
the amount of theft and robbery committed to fund drug
misuse. Evaluation of the pilot DTTO projects has
been positive.
Deputy Justice Minister Hugh Henry also announced the
distribution of over £1 million funding over two years for
Arrest Referral schemes - a pathway into treatment and
support services for addicts before they come before a
court. Arrest Referral schemes aim to reduce
offending behaviour and are entirely voluntary on the part
of the offender.
Speaking at the joint Scottish Executive/Drug
Action Team Association conference in Grangemouth, Mr
Henry said:
"Drugs misuse and drug-related crime affect
individuals and communities acrossScotland. Around 70 per cent of cases that come
before our courts have a drug-related aspect.
As the HM Chief Inspector of Prisons pointed
out in his annual report just last week, a large percentage
of our prison population have drugs problems and are there
for drug-related offences.
"So it makes sense to look at other ways of reducing
drug-related offendingand reducing its impact on both individuals and
communities. That is why
we introduced Drug Treatment and Testing Orders
(DTTOs), initially inGlasgowand thenFife, to test their effectiveness. Orders which
reduce the amount of crime carried out to fund drugs
misuse, and which reduce the level of misuse.
"External evaluation has been positive and last
year we committed the Executive to rolling out DTTOs to
courts covering about 70 per cent of the Scottish
population.
"Today I am pleased to announce that we will make
available the necessary resources to ensure that courts in
every part ofScotlandhave the option to impose DTTOs as an alternative to
custody - making good on a Partnership Agreement
pledge.
"Let me be clear, DTTOs are not a soft option, they
are a smart option. Any breach of an order is
highly likely to result in prison.
For serious drug dealers there will be no
respite.
They will continue to do serious time for
their serious crimes.
Mr Henry also announced the allocation of Executive
funding for Arrest Referral schemes. He said:
"Dealing with drug misusing offenders in the
community offers the best prospects of breaking the
cycle of criminal behaviour. Efficient and effective
justice is not just about punishing criminals. It is
about providing people with routes out of crime.
"Arrest Referral schemes can offer relatively minor
offenders the opportunity to agree to treatment as an early
alternative to being dealt with through the criminal
courts. There are already a number of schemes
across
Scotlandin operation.
"I am keen to build on that success and today I am
pleased to announce that we will provide funding to
establish two year pilot schemes to start in January
inGlasgow,DumfriesandGallowayand Lanarkshire. We will also provide funding
for the extension of existing schemes in Renfrewshire,
Tayside and Edinburgh.
"Drug Treatment and Testing Orders and Arrest
Referral schemes tackle the real issues behind crime. They
allow people who have committed drug-related offences to
overcome their drug problems and to live healthy,
crime-free lives making our communities safer
places to live."
Drug Treatment and testing Orders are a high
tariff available to the High Court and sheriff courts
as an alternative to custody. The order contains
features unique to community disposal, including a
requirement for regular reviews by the court to enable
sentencers to monitor progress and a requirement that
the offender consent to regular, random drug tests
throughout the order.
Findings of external evaluation by Stirling
University of Glasgow andFifepilots show that within the first few months of an
order being made offenders show a significant reduction in
levels of spend on drugs and associated criminal behaviour.
After six months on an Order expenditure on drugs decreased
from an average of £490 per week pre-sentence to an average
of £57 per week.
The amount of funding to be made available will be
determined followingdiscussions with providers over the coming
weeks. To date, 720 Orders have been made across
Scotland.
Arrest referral allows drug users who have been
arrested to volunteer toengage with drug treatment and/or other appropriate
services with a view to reducing their offending
behaviour.
The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act gives the Executive aspecific power to fund arrest referral schemes under
the ringfenced funding arrangements for criminal justice
social work.
The funding being distributed today comes from within
the CriminalJustice social work budget, previously
announced. The allocations, over two years,
are:
Glasgow£494,000
DumfriesandGalloway £100,000
Lanarkshire - £128,000
Renfrewshire - £96,000
Tayside - £136,000
Edinburgh/Midlothian - £180,000
The bids for arrest referral funding were
assessed by a multi-discipline team including officials
from Police, Health, Social Work and Criminal Justice
System policy teams. Bids judged to be successful were
those which met most fully with the criteria, gave
value for money and would provide for a geographical
spread of arrest referral availability across the
country.