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8. Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (Chart 27 to 29 and Tables 53 to 62)
8.1 Information on DTTOs and DTTO Assessments was provided for the first time in 2003-04. Paragraph 19.12 in the annex provides further information on the availability of DTTOs to sheriff courts across Scotland in 2005-06. A total of 599 DTTOs and 1,311 DTTO Assessments were made in 2005-06 up 14 per cent and 9 per cent respectively from the figures of 526 orders and 1,204 assessments in 2004-05.
8.2 The incidence of DTTOs was 1.7 per 10,000 population in 2005-06, up from 1.5 in 2004-05. Of the participating local authority areas, this rate was highest in West Lothian (4.3), North Ayrshire (3.3), Fife (2.5) and Edinburgh City (2.5, including figures for Midlothian); and lowest in West Dunbartonshire (0.3, including figures for Argyll & Bute and East Dunbartonshire), East Renfrewshire (0.3) and Stirling (0.3). These rates varied similarly for CJAs with the highest being in Lothian and Borders (2.5) and the lowest in Northern (0.6).
8.3 Male offenders accounted for 82 per cent of DTTOs. Just under half (47 per cent) of all females and 36 per cent of males receiving DTTOs were aged 25 or under. Thirty per cent of males and 19 per cent of females receiving DTTOs were aged over 30 years. The incidence of DTTOs was highest amongst 26 to 30 year olds (7.0 per 10,000 population) and 21 to 25 year olds (5.6).
Chart 27 Drug Treatment and Testing Orders by Age and Gender of Offender, 2003-04 to 2005-06
Orders per 10,000 population
8.4 DTTOs were most likely to be 18 months in length (57 per cent) or 24 months (19 per cent). Females were more likely to receive a DTTO of less than 18 months (37 per cent) than males (17 per cent). Only three per cent of DTTOs were for lengths of greater than 24 months, a slight increase from 1 per cent in 2004-05. The average length of a DTTO in 2005-06 was 18 months and this was similar for both males (18 months) and females (17 months).
8.5 Sixty-two per cent of DTTOs were imposed on offenders who were unemployed or not seeking employment, a decrease of 17 percentage points from 79 per cent in 2004-05. However, a significantly higher percentage were recorded under other in 2005-06 (37 per cent) than in 2004-05 (19 per cent), resulting from the fact that a detailed breakdown of employment status was not available in Edinburgh and Dundee in 2005-06.
Breach Applications of Drug Treatment and Testing Orders
8.6 There were 233 breach applications made to the Courts in 2005-06 in respect of DTTOs, an increase of 15 per cent from 203 in 2004-05. Males accounted for 79 per cent of these applications. The number of breach applications is not directly comparable with the number of orders previously provided (which covers new orders only) as some breach applications may relate to orders started in the previous year. However, considering the lengths of orders started since 2003-04, allows a rough estimate to be made of the number of orders running during the year. This gives an estimated total of 1,100 DTTOs running in 2005-06 suggesting approximately one in five orders results in a breach application.
8.7 Just under one third of breach applications resulted in the original order being revoked and a custodial sentence imposed, a slight reduction from 34 per cent 2004-05. Less than one per cent resulted in the order being revoked and a new DTTO imposed whilst a further 13 per cent resulted in the original order being revoked and some other action taken. In 3 per cent of applications, the DTTO was continued and varied and in less than one per cent it was continued with a monetary penalty. A further 25 per cent resulted in the original order being continued and no further action taken by the court, an increase from 11 per cent in 2004-05. The outcome was not yet known in 16 per cent of applications.
Chart 28 DTTO Breach Applications by Outcome, 2003-04 to 2005-06
Terminations of DTTOs
8.8 A total of 465 DTTOs were terminated in 2005-06, an increase of 48 per cent on the 315 terminations in 2004-05. Forty per cent were successfully completed, 17 per cent were revoked following a review and thirty-three per cent of orders were terminated following a breach application (down from 42 per cent in 2004-05). The remainder were terminated for other reasons (including transfer out of the area and death).
Chart 29 DTTO Terminations by Outcome, 2003-04 to 2005-06
1. Other includes transfer out of area and death.
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