By James Rougvie

A NEW MULTI-AGENCY authority designed to reduce offending in Tayside will lay out its four-year plan this week at a meeting in Forfar—with an emphasis on tackling alcohol and drug abuse.

The Tayside Community Justice Authority is one of eight partnerships in Scotland charged with tackling re-offending and providing platforms and support to encourage offenders to resist breaking the law again.

Each authority has put in a shadow year identifying gaps in services and in Tayside the authority— represented by Dundee City, Angus and Perth and Kinross councils and backed by health services, police and housing, education and employment agencies —has targeted substance misuse, alcohol and drugs, as a specific area for improvement.

The new body has emphasised that current quality and provision of services to cope with abuse is not weak, but the Tayside CJA can help the three authority drug and alcohol action teams develop more co-ordinated services.

Based on five-year-old statistics, reconvictions are nationally at 45%, although Angus and Perth are below at 43% and 47%. Dundee exceeds it at 50%. Custodial reconvictions are nationally 15%, with Angus at 10%, Perth 13% and Dundee 16%.

Tayside Police, although recording a 0.7% drop in the number of crimes over the past year, experienced an increase in non-sexual crimes of violence attributable to an increase in robberies.

Throughout Tayside 4865 social inquiry reports were produced in 2005-06, with Dundee City Council generating 3018, a steady and significant increase over the past five years.

Dundee and Perth have increased numbers of community service orders, while probation orders have remained stable.

Drug treatment and testing orders across Tayside are lower than expected, but are expected to increase.

Social work services deliver programmes for convicted perpetrators of domestic abuse, and these will be monitored by the new body.

In 2005 there were 120 alcohol-related deaths in Tayside and 1022 drink driving offences.

A large number of serving prisoners in Scotland reported they were drunk at the time of their offence, which amounted to two-thirds of adults and a third of young offenders.

In Tayside, alcohol is seen as a strong contributor to an increase in minor assaults, while the Scottish Drugs Misuse Database shows a 161% increase in new individuals reporting to drug services for treatment between 2001 and 2006, with 556 new referrals.

Most reported heroin abuse and a drug habit which began in their teenage years. Last year there were 35 drug-related deaths in Tayside, 27 of which involved heroin.

The CJA intends identifying offender groups that will require to be reviewed—including violent serious and sex offenders, persistent offenders and young people in transition to the adult system, women offenders and offenders involved in substance misuse.

Also to be reviewed are less serious, first time offenders and prisoners needing resettlement and rehabilitative services. Employment will be addressed, with recognition a focus on literacy, training and skills acquisition will help offenders reintegrate into society.

The CJA has been given statistics suggesting 70% of prisoners have mental health problems, with 7% suffering from psychotic illness.

The Tayside group says there is a need to co-ordinate activity between mental health teams, adult care services and forensic services, and this will be developed over the next three years.