THE CREATION of dedicated treatment centres and supported accommodation for drug addicts is essential to deal effectively with the country’s substance misuse problems, according to Brian Donald, one of only two drug court sheriffs in Scotland.

He has been a resident sheriff at Kirkcaldy since 1999 and in charge of the Fife drug court since it was first piloted in 2002, alongside Glasgow.

He was approached, having already helped to pioneer compulsory Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs)—a community-based disposal and a direct alternative to custody which became available from 2000 in Fife, Aberdeen and Glasgow.

DTTOs were made available to every sheriff in Scotland in 2003.

“The drug court pilot was an instant success, both here and in Glasgow with immediate reductions in levels of housebreakings, car thefts and shoplifting,” Sheriff Donald said.

The Fife drug court became a permanent fixture in 2006, directed at young adults with a lengthy addiction to illicit drugs such as heroine, amphetamines, benzodiazepines and cocaine.

Its aim is to reduce or eliminate offenders’ dependence on illicit drugs and stop further offending.

On average there are around 90 to 100 offenders in the Fife programme at any one time.

“Although the courts are aimed at those over 21, I am seeing an increase in 18 and 19-year-olds needing the help of the drug court as a result of them using drugs from the ages of 10 and 12,” Sheriff Donald said.

“I believe that jail is not the answer because offenders will simply serve their sentence and be released into the community without any change to their addictive condition so it is no surprise that they will often re-offend.

“This is commonly referred to as the revolving door effect.”

Under a DTTO, drug-misusing offenders are put on a treatment programme in which they are given alternatives to drugs such as methadone and they undergo regular tests to check for further misuse.

Offenders have to come face to face with the sheriff at open court sittings on a regular basis.

If they do well they will be praised for their efforts and in some cases may be admonished.

Failure to comply and re-offending by way of petty crime, however, often results in a short prison sentence.

“We do not give up on individuals,” Sheriff Donald said.

Sheriff Donald said, “In my role as a sheriff I also have a duty to protect the public and so I must stress that if the nature of an addict’s offence was serious, such as a violent assault or an attack on the elderly, that is unacceptable and would lead to an appropriate custodial sentence.”

The success of the drug court relies heavily on co-operation of other agencies involved including the police, procurator fiscal, social workers, doctors, addiction service and other support agencies.

Between 2001 and 2004, a study was carried out by Stirling University on the drug courts in Fife and Glasgow, which revealed that a number of individuals on DTTOs had either escaped from addiction to illicit drugs or had greatly reduced their dependency on them.

The study also confirmed that offending by those on orders had significantly reduced.

“I am also aware from my own observations that a substantial number of those being dealt with on orders in my drug court are not re-offending and are either back at work or getting back into work and a normal way of life,” Sheriff Donald said.

Sheriff Donald recently represented Scotland at the International Drug Court Judges Conference in St Louis and says the Scottish Government could learn a lot from the Americans.

“They are doing some fantastic work helping drug misusers stay off drugs and rebuild their lives.

“There are currently 2000 drug courts now in operation across the United States which have reported a significant fall in drug- related crime.

“They treat offenders in in-house centres and if we had such facilities in this country, instead of relying so much on alternative medication, we could detox offenders and thus give them a greater chance to remain free of illicit drugs.

“Equally we need many more places of supported accommodation for those who have no accommodation or no satisfactory accommodation.

“That said, we are doing good things in Scotland which can be measured by the findings of the report and also the fact that other countries in Europe such as Norway and other countries such as Thailand and China are following our Scottish Drug Court model.

“And of course the Scottish Government is to be commended for its new £94 million drugs strategy. However we must recognise that so much more needs to be done.”

Sheriff Donald said he would like to see more funding for Scotland’s existing drug courts and would like to see more drug courts set up around the country.