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Drug Treatment and Testing Order (DTTO)

DETAILS

Local Authority area:

Aberdeenshire

Primary Courts of relevance:

Aberdeen, Banff, Peterhead

All information provided by:

Aberdeen Community Justice Partnership

Aberdeenshire Community Justice Information

Published: 23 April 2021

The information on this page has been provided by Community Justice Partnerships. Community Justice Scotland is not responsible for the accuracy of the information and is unable to respond to direct queries. All such queries in respect of the information shown on this page should be directed to the Community Justice Partnership to which it relates.

This information will be reviewed and updated where required.

Drug Treatment and Testing Order (DTTO)

Interventions suitable for

Individuals where there is evidence that there is a pattern of offending that relates to drug misuse.

Programme title and provider

Drug Treatment and Testing Order (DTTO)

Details of all Specific national or local scheme/intervention(s) available

Aberdeenshire Criminal Justice Social Work will provide Drug Treatment and Testing Orders to persons of all ages and genders who meet the criteria set out in Guidance provided by the Scottish Government, that:

  • The person is dependent on or has propensity to misuse drugs; and
  • The dependency or propensity requires and may be susceptible to treatment; and
  • The person is suitable to be subject to an order

Possible Outcomes

The emphasis of a DTTO is on drugs treatment as the primary means of reducing offending behaviour. Specifically, the objectives of a DTTO are to:

  1. Reduce or eliminate an individual’s dependence or propensity to misuse drugs.
  2. Achieve positive changes in the scale and frequency or drug related offending.

Scottish Government DTTO Guidance
In terms of Community Justice Outcomes, a Drug Treatment and Testing Order could contribute towards:

  • Effective Interventions are delivered to prevent and reduce the risk of further offending
  • People have better access to the services they require, including welfare, health and wellbeing, housing and employability.
  • Life chances are improved through needs, including health, financial inclusion, housing and safety, being addressed.
  • Individuals’ resilience and capacity for change and self-management are enhanced.

Process for Assessment and/or inclusion in scheme/intervention

The Court can request an assessment of suitability for a Drug Treatment and Testing Order (DTTO) where there is evidence that there is a pattern of offending that relates to drug misuse. Criminal Justice Social Work will undertake the assessment of suitability and then return a full assessment report after a period of 4-6 weeks to the Court for their consideration.
Criminal Justice Social Work can also consider a DTTO assessment if a Criminal Justice Social Work Report is requested. CJSW would ask the Court to then defer for a further period (6-8 weeks) for the whole assessment.
Evidence of motivation, willingness to engage, readiness and compliance with Criminal Justice and Social Work and Substance Misuse Services (SMS) are the key components of suitability.