Justice Social Work Statistics in Scotland: 2023-24 – Part 2

6 Drug treatment and testing orders (DTTOs)

(Tables 1 & 15 to 19 and Chart 8)

6.1 Orders imposed

(Tables 1 and 15 and Chart 8)

Key statistics for 2023-24:

• In 2023-24, there was 280 DTTOs imposed. This was an eight per cent decrease from 300 in 2022-23 and the second lowest in the last decade.
• Eighty-two per cent of DTTOs imposed were for people aged over 30.
• Males accounted for 83 per cent of DTTOs imposed.
• Ninety-eight per cent of those receiving a DTTO were unemployed or economically inactive.
• The average length of a DTTO was just over 18 months.

A drug treatment and testing order (DTTO) is a court-imposed disposal in Scotland that requires a person to undergo drug treatment and testing as an alternative to custody. The DTTO is an intensive disposal for people with substance-related offending who might otherwise get a custodial sentence.

During the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of court cases could not be conducted. As a result, the number of DTTOs commenced fell sharply in 2020-21 and although it rose in 2021-22, it remained below the pre-pandemic years. In each of the years 2022-23 and 2023-24, the numbers fell, reaching 280 in 2023-24, the second lowest level in the last decade (Chart 8).

A key driver behind the fact that numbers were low in both 2022-23 and 2023-24 was that the DTTO service in Edinburgh was suspended to new assessments/orders from June 2022 to February 2023 and then again from June 2023. This was as a result of significant gaps in clinical provision due to recruitment challenges and the service therefore not having the capacity to provide treatment for additional people coming into the service.

During these periods of suspension, the service for people already subject to DTTOs was unchanged, for both clinical treatment and social work support. During the suspensions, courts were able to impose CPOs with drug treatment requirements. This allowed people to engage with mainstream substance use services and address other factors related to their drug use and offending. In addition, this disposal retained essential elements of DTTOs without the specific clinical element. As a result, 49 CPOs with drug treatment requirements were issued for the City of Edinburgh council area in 2023-24, compared with just three in 2022-23.

Between 2022-23 and 2023-24, the number of DTTOs imposed in City of Edinburgh and the neighbouring Midlothian and East Lothian council areas, fell by 17 per cent. The latter two councils had a partnership agreement in place to make use of Edinburgh DTTO services. By comparison, numbers in the rest of Scotland fell by only six per cent over the same period.

In every year from 2014-15 to 2022-23, people aged 31 to 40 formed the highest proportion of people receiving a DTTO. However, in 2023-24, the highest was those aged 40 and over (43 per cent of the total). This compared with 39 per cent for those aged 31 to 40.

6.2 Timescales for implementation

(Table 16)

Key statistics for 2023-24:

• Where this information was known:
  • Seventy-four per cent of first direct contacts took place within one working day of imposition.
  • Eighty-four per cent of first case management meetings took place within five working days.

In 2023-24, for DTTOs where first direct contact was known, 74 per cent had contact within one working day of the order being imposed. In 13 per cent of cases, it took longer than five working days for this to take place.

Where known, the first case management meeting took place within five working days in 2023-24 for 84 per cent of orders. In nine per cent of these cases, it took longer than ten working days for the first meeting to take place.

The proportions for these timescales can fluctuate from year to year due to the small number of orders involved. The figures for the pandemic years 2020-21 and 2021-22 were slightly lower but, since then, figures have returned to at or slightly higher than pre-Covid levels.

6.3 Orders finished

(Tables 1 & 17 to 19)

Key statistics for 2023-24:

• In 2023-24, 51 per cent of DTTOs were successfully completed.
• Twenty-four per cent of orders finished were revoked due to review with a further 14 per cent revoked due to breach.
• Seventy-five per cent of all DTTOs finished had no breach applications.

Orders finished include those that have been successfully completed or discharged early, orders that have been revoked due to review or breach and those finished due to death or other reasons. Those that transfer to other areas are also considered finished in the local authority that the individual has left and are included in the figures for the new local authority they have transferred to.

The percentage of orders successfully completed tends to be lower for DTTOs than for other social work orders. This is due, in part, to the complex needs of those involved and the intensity of the supervision involved in a DTTO.

The completion rate for DTTOs reached a high of 55 per cent in 2014-15, before falling to 39 per cent in 2019-20. This completion rate is calculated in the same way as for CPOs. It is done by adding together the number of successful completions and early discharges, then dividing this by the total orders finished less orders which were transferred out of a local authority to a different area.

The very high rate of 66 per cent in 2020-21 was likely to have been influenced by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Particular factors may have been the type of cases where it had been possible for the orders to finish and the fact that, over some periods, it was not possible to conduct testing. The completion rate was 51 per cent in 2023-24, the third highest in the last ten years. Caution is advised in drawing any conclusions on completion rates over time, particularly over the pandemic years.

Among orders finished which were not transferred out, the proportion revoked due to review and due to breach in 2023-24 were 24 and 14 per cent respectively. A custodial sentence was imposed in 63 per cent of revoked cases in 2023-24 where the main outcome was known.

Seventy-five per cent of all DTTOs finished had no breach applications in 2023-24. Eighty-five per cent of breach applications were lodged with the court within five working days of the decision being made to make an application (see the additional datasets which accompany this publication).