Drug Interventions Programme

Back to DIP key messages

Community sentences key messages

The Drug Interventions Programme aims to help increase the use of community sentences with drug treatment and rehabilitative requirements for adults where it is deemed appropriate by the courts on the advice of probation officers and lawyers involved in the case.

The Drug Rehabilitation Requirement (DRR) is one of the 12 requirements that can be included in a community sentence.

It is the main delivery route for drug interventions within community sentences for adult offenders. It involves treatment (either in the community or in a residential setting) and regular drug testing. The National Probation Service also has specific accredited programmes to tackle drug related offending. These would generally be used in the medium to higher sentencing bands alongside a DRR, as a requirement of the community order.

The key messages are:

• The number of orders has increased from 4,854 DTTOs in 2001/02 to 17,642 DTTOs and DRRs in 2008/9. This has been accompanied by an improvement in the national completion rate, which has increased from 28 per cent in 2003 to 47 per cent in 2008/09. NOMS is now focused on further improving this completion rate.
• DRRs can be used instead of custody but are not a soft option. They offer the Courts an intensive and effective vehicle for tackling the drug misuse and offending of many of the most serious and persistent drug-misusing offenders.
• In many cases, such orders have succeeded in engaging people in treatment for more than 12 weeks, which is regarded as a key milestone for many drug misusers in making real progress towards a drug-free lifestyle.
• The key to success in diverting the offender out of crime and into treatment is effective offender management and partnership across agencies.