REWARD SCHEME FOR REHABILITATED ADDICTS CRITICISED

A SCHEME to reward rehabilitated drug addicts with an American-style
graduation ceremony instead of punishing them has been attacked by family
policy groups and anti-drug campaigners.

Critics say that the programme, launched in June with the support of Jack
Straw, the Home Secretary, gives hardened criminals "an easy option".

They are also furious at the graduation - sponsored by Marks and Spencer -
where, after 12 months of rehabilitation, former addicts are given items
such as T-shirts, baseball caps and pens. One of the first offenders on the
programme, James Wilcock, will soon receive his gifts for coming off drugs.

Wilcock, 24, an unemployed factory worker who describes his crimes of
breaking and entering, shoplifting and theft as "petty", had been in court
more than 20 times. Back in court on four charges of possessing heroin, he
was almost certain to be returned to prison but was diverted on to the
reward scheme.

The project is run by the Substance Misuse Treatment Enforcement Programme
(Step) and is based on an American model. It was introduced to Britain by
Keith Hellawell, the Government's drugs tsar, with the support of the Home
Office and UKP200,000 of public money.

The planned graduation is also a copy of the American system. There, those
who complete the programme are given rewards such as baseball caps, pens,
and pot-pourri for women along with their certificates.

Wilcock denies that the scheme is a soft option, although he said: "It's
very different from being in prison - you just get angry in there." He
claims that he had tried and failed to rid himself of his UKP50-a-day heroin
habit at least three times. Each time he came out of prison, he was using
again within weeks.

Step, he said, had given him much-needed support. "I've got new friends now
and the support is great. And when I've completed detox they will help me
find a job. It's the first time I've had real help on the outside." There
are expected to be more than 100 "graduates" of the Step programme, which
expanded last week and now includes weekly sessions of a drug court in
Pontefract, West Yorks.

Eleven offenders have signed up to the programme and a further 130 have been
referred for treatment. Offenders are referred to the court by police and go
before a panel of specially trained magistrates. If accepted, they are
subjected to detoxification, stabilisation and rehabilitation.

Offenders are allowed to live at home, but are each given a drugs worker to
whom they must report three times a week. They are drug-tested to ensure
they have not tried to cheat, and go back to court every five weeks for
progress to be assessed.

Dr Adrian Rogers, the director of the Conservative Family Institute, said of
the scheme: "We should be pleased that people don't take drugs but that
doesn't mean that we should be grateful - that they should be rewarded.

"The long-term solution is to drive drugs off the street and make the
punishment for dealers and users so fearful that they are too scared to take
drugs. This programme accepts that drug use is acceptable. I can't see that
it will ever work."

Paul Betts, the father of the Ecstasy victim Leah Betts, who runs Action for
Drugs Awareness, said: "I would be concerned if people are being rewarded
too soon, or if those being treated and subsequently rewarded include drug
dealers. Rewarding such people is ridiculous."

Michael Wheatley, the Step project manager, defended the reward system and
said: "This is a rigorous programme and people need encouragement as they
complete each of the three phases. It is an important part of the scheme."

The full cost of the programme was about UKP3,000 a person, which, he said,
"is considerably less than the cost of keeping someone in prison for the
same time."

Step has won backing from big pharmaceutical companies and is pursuing more
private sponsorship, similar to that provided by Marks and Spencer.

Checked-by: "Don Beck"