This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Arrest referral scheme for addicts extended
25/07/2006
Funding is being made available to extend an initiative which enables drug workers to offer offending addicts access to treatment for their addiction upon arrest.
Arrest referral is aimed at reducing reoffending among offenders arrested for a crime that may be linked to drug misuse. It presents them with the opportunity to volunteer for treatment to tackle the root cause of their offending behaviour.
Referral takes place in police cells or court premises where drug workers provide offenders with information about the services available to them and carry out an assessment to determine their suitability for treatment.
Contact can then be made with relevant service providers with a view to securing a treatment place which the offender can take up once criminal proceedings are concluded and they are released from custody.
Following independent evaluation of existing arrest referral pilots in Glasgow, Renfrewshire, Tayside, Dumfries and Galloway, Lanarkshire and Edinburgh, funding is being provided to run existing schemes up until 2008 and to set up a new scheme in Aberdeen.
The annual funding of £1.4 million will also allow the scheme to be rolled out across Glasgow, where it currently operates out of only one police station.
Additional national funding totalling £600,000 is also being made available to increase the provision of treatment places needed to support arrest referral work.
Between February 2004 and December 2005 a total of 2,791 people consented to referral into appropriate services. The evaluation found that 84 per cent of arrestees exposed to the arrest referral scheme said they would recommend it.
Visiting a police station in Aberdeen, Deputy Justice Minister Hugh Henry said:
"Drugs misuse and drug-related crime affect individuals and communities across Scotland. That's why we need to find effective interventions that nip drug-related offending in the bud. I'm encouraged by the independent evaluation published today and believe arrest referral schemes have the potential to produce real results.
"For minor offenders arrest referral offers an early opportunity to turn their lives around - an opportunity to get offenders into treatment earlier and quicker, and thus to reduce their offending.
"It is an excellent example of multi-agency working that allows the justice system to join up with the support services that can bring some law and order to chaotic lives. By coupling the wake-up call of their arrest with a route out of the spiral of offending - we can increase the chances of reducing drug-related crime for long-suffering communities.
"Efficient and effective justice is not just about punishing criminals. It is about providing people with routes out of crime. Along with a raft of work including Drug Treatment and Testing Orders as a court disposal, arrest referral has the potential to help break the link between drugs and crime and help deliver a safer, stronger Scotland."
The evaluation of arrest referral pilots was carried out by Scottish Centre for Social Research and Stirling University. Key findings include:
- Pilots were successful in reaching arrestees with substance misuse problems
- Pilot through-put ranged from 100-900 a year
- 84 per cent of arrestees would recommend arrest referral to other people
- Most arrestees were referred on to treatment services
The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act gives the Executive a specific power to fund arrest referral schemes under the ringfenced funding arrangements for criminal justice social work.
The Deputy Justice Minister announced the creation of the existing arrest referral schemes on October 28, 2003. Over £1 million was made available to establish the pilots and allow them to run from February 2004 to January 2006.
Negotiations are commencing with arrest referral service providers to agree funding allocations.
Drug Treatment and Testing Orders are a high tariff disposal available to the High Court and sheriff courts as an alternative to custody. The order includes a requirement for regular reviews by the court to monitor progress and a requirement that the offender consent to regular, random drug tests throughout the Order.