Establishing Drug Courts in Scotland: Early Experiences of the Pilot Drug Courts in Glasgow and Fife

s The pilot Drug Courts in Glasgow and Fife have important procedural differences that had been instituted to enable the Drug Court model to be adapted to different local contexts. s The referral procedures adopted had both strengths and weaknesses. The procedures in Glasgow, for example, had generated fewer referrals but were more effective in 'fast-tracking' offenders into treatment. s The range of treatment services provided in-house was strongly influenced by the existing services that could be accessed by clients on Drug Court Orders. Professional differences emerged in both pilot sites with respect to aspects of the treatment regime. s Review hearings-and especially the sheriff-offender dialogues that characterised them-were a critical feature of the Drug Court process and their effectiveness was perceived to be further enhanced by the pre-court review meetings. s Sheriffs were dissatisfied with the range of sanctions available to the court in the event of non-compliance and welcomed the provisions in the forthcoming Criminal Justice Act to enable the Drug Court to impose short periods of imprisonment. s There was no evidence that pilot Drug Courts had impacted adversely on the workload of the sheriff courts. However in Glasgow in particular the resource implications for the Supervision and Treatment Team of managing such intensive Orders had not been fully acknowledged. s Pilot Drug Courts have been successfully established in Glasgow, and in Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline in Fife, suggesting that Drug Courts are likely to be viable in Scotland and may prove to be effective in addressing drug-related crime.