HEROIN PROJECT WEANED ME OFF A LIFE OF CRIME

ONE of David Findlay's biggest regrets is that he squandered most of his
youth on drugs and crime.

By the time he was 12 he had begun drinking and smoking cannabis, had joined
a gang and got involved in fights. Two years later David, from Port Glasgow,
was injecting heroin.

As he struggled to feed his habit by stealing cars and housebreaking, he
found himself in front of the Children's Panel, often facing as many as 60
charges.

He said: "I never cared about the Children's Panel because nothing ever
happened to me and all I ever got was a smack on the wrists. But things
changed when I turned 16."

David was sentenced to two years in jail after he was found in a stolen car
with two older boys. He only served a year and by the time he was 17 he was
back on heroin.

He said: "I had calmed down by my own standards but by anyone else's I was
still wild. I was still stealing and in court, but every time I was offered
rehabilitation I would prefer to take the 60 days' sentence to get it over
with."

But when David was just about to turn 20 he began a methadone programme to
get off heroin.

Then he was referred to the Inverclyde Intensive Probation project which
operates a similar modular system to the new Glasgow scheme.

He said: "I was determined to use it. I got loads of support from the people
in the project and I completed all the modules in six months and was doing
lots of voluntary work."

Now 23, David is preparing to begin work at the new Glasgow Community
Justice and Employment project in Glasgow. He hopes to follow a career in
counselling.