- judges to monitor progress of offenders serving community
sentences
- courts to direct drug and alcohol abusers to face addictions
head on
- part of tough new community sentencing approach to cut crime
The ‘Intensive Supervision Courts’ form part of a tough new
community sentencing approach to tackle the root causes of
offenders’ behaviour, help them change their ways and cut
reoffending.
Through the pilot - launched in Liverpool and Teesside this week
- when an offender is sentenced, the judge will order them to
attend regular review meetings to check they are abiding by the
requirements of their community sentence. Birmingham Magistrates’
Court will also be in the pilot focusing on female offenders and
the underlying issues which drive their offending.
Offenders will also have access to specialist drug and alcohol
treatment to help them tackle the substance misuse which could be
driving their criminality.
At the same time, they will receive intensive supervision from
the Probation Service which could include frequent and
random drug testing.
They will also have support accessing education, employment and
housing.
Failure to engage, continued substance misuse or refusal to
attend the follow-on meetings with the judge could mean the
offender faces increased drug testing or is sent to prison.
Judges will also use privileges such as relaxing conditions to
recognise good progress.
Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, MP KC, said:
Clamping down on the root causes of addiction will help us combat
the scourge of drug and alcohol-fuelled crime which costs the
taxpayer £22 billion a year.
This tough new approach is a tried and tested model that we know
cuts crime and makes our communities safer.
The pilot, which forms part of the government’s 10-year Drug
Strategy, and was made possible following the government’s
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Act 2022, with a
statutory instrument laid in Parliament last month to launch the
18-month pilot.
The pilot is based on evidence that approaches such as this can
reduce reoffending. Similar schemes have already launched
internationally and trialled in the UK, including successful
initiatives in the West Midlands.
Studies show that getting offenders to confront their addiction
through specialist support helps drive down their chance of
committing further crimes. A US study on the long-term effect of
a similar problem solving approach saw 25% fewer drug charges
over a 15-year period.
Ben, 31, was handed a 3-year community sentence and was required
to take part in a programme which uses some of the
problem-solving elements that will also be used in the new
Intensive Supervision Court pilot. He said:
This sentence gave me the specialised care I needed to help me
progress. My crimes were always about money and this community
order was tailored to me, to allow me to work and make money
legally – which stopped me falling off the rails.
The training courses were an eye-opener for me. The courses I did
saved me. Before those I could only work for £100 a day as a
labourer, and this allowed me to earn more which helped me move
away from getting money through crime.
I’ve only been given two community orders, one when I was 19 and
then the most recent one. I was never given a chance, but I could
have gone through this and moved on and away from crime at 25.
Phil Bowen, Director for the Centre of Justice Innovation, said:
These pilot courts offer a real opportunity to provide an
intense, alternative sentence to custody for people whose
offending is linked to substance use and other complex needs.
The evidence suggests that, by combining
wraparound supervision with regular judicial oversight which
holds people and services to account, we can make a material
difference to offending. These pilots allow us to test the
effectiveness of these approaches in order to inform decisions on
any potential wider roll-out.
