DRUG SCHEME'S SCOTTISH SUCCESS

Court orders aimed at helping drug addicts kick their habit are proving
more successful in Scotland than in England, it has emerged.

A report is due to be published next month into the pilot scheme, which
offers serious offenders an alternative to prison.

The orders, which can last for between six and 18 months, have been tested
in Fife and Glasgow.

Eight out of 10 offenders on the Scottish programme have completed their
orders, compared to only five or six out of 10 in England.

The report also suggests that the initiative has cut drug crime by at least
?3m a year north of the border.

Some 260 orders have been issued during the trial in Glasgow and Fife,
which has been running for two years.

Serious offenders who are addicted to drugs are given the opportunity to
avoid a prison sentence if they plead guilty and agree to drug testing,
treatment and regular reviews by a sheriff.

If they fail to comply with the conditions they can be sent to prison.

Pilot Programmes

The report into the Scottish scheme will suggest that there has been a
"remarkable" reduction in the amount of crime committed by offenders.

It is estimated that drug crime has been cut by ?6m in the two years of the
pilot programme.

It costs about ?8,000 to keep an offender on a drug order for a year -
compared to the ?28,000 it would cost to send him or her to prison.

Drug orders are due to be extended to five other parts of Scotland in the
near future.