D2 Criminal Justice Social Work Interventions
Diversion from Prosecution is the referral of an accused to
social work or other agencies where it is believed that formal
criminal justice proceedings are not necessary.
A Probation Order is a form of community sentence. The main
purpose of probation is to work with offenders to prevent or reduce
their re-offending.
The DTTO is a high tariff disposal for drug-misusing offenders
who might otherwise receive a custodial sentence. The intention is
to tackle those people whose offending is a direct result of their
drug-misuse.
For further information on these Criminal Justice Social Work
interventions please see the Background Information. |
Key Points 2005/06
Overview
- In 2005/06 54 diversion from prosecution cases were referred to
drug treatment/education (Table D2.1).
- 573 probation orders with a condition of drug treatment /
education were made (Table D2.1).
- 599 Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTO) were commenced
(Table D2.1).
- Of the DTTOs which were terminated in 2005/06, 40% were
terminated on successful completion of the order. Thirty three
percent were revoked due to a breach while 17% were revoked due to
review (Table D2.2).
Five year trend 2001/02 – 2005/06
It should be noted that data on Drug Treatment and Testing
Orders are only available from 2003/04 therefore trends are for the
three year period 2003/04 to 2005/06.
- Between 2001/02 and 2003/04 the number of cases diverted from
prosecution which were referred to drug treatment or education
rose, from 143 to 211. The number fell to 54 cases in 2005/06, a
decrease of 62% over the five year period (Table D2.1).
- The number of probation orders commenced with a condition of
drug treatment / education fell from 638 in 2001/02 to 554 in
2003/04. Numbers then rose to 601 in 2004/05 before falling again
to 573 in 2005/06. This was a decrease of 10% over the five year
period (Table D2.1).
- The number of DTTOs has risen from 412 orders in 2003/04 to 599
orders in 2005/06. This is likely to be due in part to continued
roll out of the scheme across Scotland over this time period (Table
D2.1).
- The number of DTTOs terminated upon successful completion of
the order has risen from 36% in 2003/04 to 40% in 2005/06. The
number revoked due to a breach has declined from 40% in 2003/04 to
33% in 2005/06 while the number revoked due to review has increased
from 10% in 2003/04 to 17% in 2005/06 (Table D2.2).
Geographical profile
- A third of the cases which were diverted from prosecution in
2005/06 were in South Lanarkshire council area (19 cases) (Table
D2.1).
- The areas with the highest number of probation orders in
2005/06 were Fife (103 orders) and Glasgow City (102 orders)
council areas (Table D2.1).
- In 2005/06 Glasgow City council area had the highest number of
DTTOs (100 orders), followed by Edinburgh (99 orders), North and
South Lanarkshire (66 orders) and Dundee City (62 orders) council
areas (Table D2.1).
Background Information
This section provides information on the number of individuals
entering treatment through criminal justice interventions. Criminal
Justice Social Work (CJSW) services in Scotland are provided by
local authorities throughout the country. An aggregate return
is submitted annually to the Scottish Government by each local
authority, covering data on: Social Enquiry Reports, Community
Service Orders, Probation Orders, Supervised Attendance Orders,
Drug Treatment and Testing Orders, Diversion from Prosecution and
Throughcare. Information is provided here on the CJSW interventions
which direct drug misusers to treatment and includes data on
diversion from prosecution schemes, probation orders with a
condition of treatment and Drug Treatment and Testing Orders
(DTTO). The format and content of the aggregate return continues to
evolve, to reflect new demands for information and to clarify
points of definition in relation to particular data items. Some
caution should therefore be exercised when making comparisons over
time. The statistics presented reflect the information as
known to the Scottish Government Justice Department at January 2005
and may be subject to revision in future publications. Information
presented here is based on data from the aggregate return made by
local authorities to the Scottish Government and therefore may
differ from information previously published relating to criminal
justice interventions.
Diversion from Prosecution is the referral of an accused to
social work or other agencies where it is believed that formal
criminal justice proceedings are not necessary. The accused is then
dealt with through 'diversion schemes' which aim to address
underlying causes of offending. Diversion is designed to prevent
individuals being prematurely "up-tariffed" into a custodial
sentence and to stop the cycle of offending/punishment before it
starts. The decision as to whether or not an accused should be
diverted is taken by the Procurator Fiscal. Social Work diversion
from prosecution schemes aim to provide persons accused of minor
offences with support and advice in relation to problems associated
with their offending. In such cases prosecution is deferred,
subject to successful completion of the scheme.
Probation Orders provide one of the opportunities for Criminal
Justice Social Work to focus on offending behaviour. The main
purpose of probation is to work with offenders to prevent or reduce
their reoffending. This is done by combining oversight and control
with help to learn new behaviours and to deal with problems
associated with offending. The Probation Order will have an Action
Plan in which the offender agrees to address their offending
behaviour and its underlying causes. Probation Orders can be used
very flexibly by the courts and additional conditions can be
attached regarding the offender undertaking unpaid work, their
place of residence, curfew (including electronic monitoring),
financial recompense to the victim or attendance at a specialist
programme such as alcohol or drug treatment.
The Drug Treatment and Testing Order (DTTO) is a high tariff
disposal for offenders who might otherwise receive a custodial
sentence. The Order contains features unique to a community
disposal, including a requirement for regular reviews by the court
and a requirement that the offender consent to frequent random drug
tests throughout the lifetime of the Order. Drug Treatment and
Testing Orders (DTTO) are a relatively new community sentence in
Scotland, introduced for the first time in 1999. Due to the complex
and resource intensive nature of the DTTO, the Order was rolled out
across Scotland in phases. Between 1999 and 2002 the Order was
rolled out to Glasgow, Fife and Aberdeen. In 2002/03 the Order
became available in Edinburgh, Renfrewshire/Inverclyde and Tayside.
By 2004/05 the DTTO Drug Treatment and Testing Order (DTTO) was
available to the High Court and to Sheriff Courts for offenders
resident in most local authority areas (with the exception of
Argyll & Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries & Galloway, East
Lothian, East Dunbartonshire, Eilean Siar, Falkirk, Highland,
Moray, Orkney Islands, Scottish Borders, Shetland Islands,
Stirling, West Lothian and West Dunbartonshire). From 2005/06 the
Order has been available to almost every court in Scotland with the
remaining one or two courts (where rurality and health provision
issues mean there are particular difficulties in servicing the
order) expected to come on stream shortly. Data on DTTOs began to
be collected through the aggregate return in 2003/04.
Further information
Information on Criminal Justice Social Work is available at the
Scottish Government website: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/criminal/16910
Further statistics on Criminal Justice Social Work are also
available from the Scottish Government website: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/PubSocialWork
Further information on Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTO)
is available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/criminal/16906/6826
|
