Evaluation of the Pan-Lanarkshire Alcohol and Drug Problem-Solving Court Pilot

Pilot Overview
Since 2019 Scotland has consistently had the highest drug death rate in Europe (National Records of Scotland, 2025a). In response, Pan-Lanarkshire (PL) Justice Social Work (JSW) services – which comprises of the independent South Lanarkshire (SL) JSW and North Lanarkshire (NL) JSW – in partnership with Hamilton Sheriff Court (HSC), launched Scotland’s first Alcohol and Drug Problem Solving Court (ADPSC). The pilot ran from December 2023 till December 2025.

Adhering to multiagency collaboration, SL JWS secured external Drugs Mission Funding, administered via the Corra Foundation, alongside additional funding from the SL Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP), and Digital Lifeline (DL), to establish the dedicated Recovery Orientated Justice Service (ROJS), which adopted a blended statutory and third sector service provision to provide a trauma-informed approach, within a public health model, to recovery for those whose contact with criminal justice is primarily driven by underlying causes of substance use. NL JSW funding for the project was more limited: allocated directly from the NL APD fund and the Scottish Government S27 grant fund. The fund was used to set up the SDS Team.

Once placed on a Structured Deferred Sentence (SDS), service users contribute to their own individualised recovery-oriented treatment. The mid-term evaluation reports for both SL JSW and NL JSW noted considerable success. Yet despite a further 13% fall in drug deaths nationally, Scotland nonetheless remains drug death capital of Europe with 191 drug deaths per million people (National Records of Scotland, 2025a). The purpose of this full-term evaluation report is to evaluate the PL JSW involvement in the ADPSC.

Aims and Objectives
The pilot has several overarching objectives. Corra Foundation objectives are as follows:

- to measure both the systemic and individual impact of the ADPSC.

In addition, PL JSW Smart Objectives, aligned to Scottish Government Logic Model six priority areas to reduce drug deaths and harms, will be reported on as specified:

- 85% of service users who use substances to be provided pathways into wider employment, health and welfare opportunities.
- 70% of service users on Structured Deferred Sentence (SDS) disposals sustaining and completing their period of support.
- 90% of service users provided with medically assisted treatment and/or recovery plans in conjunction with access to community-oriented recovery networks1 .
- 85% of SL service user families with lived experience to be provided with advice and support in the recovery journey .

PL JSW High Level Objectives will also be reported. High Level objectives are as follows:

- To reduce drug and alcohol related deaths North and South Lanarkshire.
- Reduce the volume of Community Payback Order (CPO) breaches and non-completion.
- Prevent those in conflict with the law proceeding further into the justice system.
- Reduce the use of remand and short-term custodial sentencing.
- Provide long term SDS options for those with problematic drug and alcohol use.

The ROJS and SDS Team work in tandem with service users to develop individualised treatment and rehabilitation plans. Individually tailored programs are supported by a dedicated court process through court imposed SDS. Service user criteria are as follows:

- Hold residency within PL boundary.
- Aged between 25-55 years of age.
- At risk of custody.
- Have a drug use dependency or regular use that contributes to offending (this can include alcohol but not solely).
- Motivated to engage with a SDS for between 6-9 months and undertake an appropriate treatment plan which may or may not be medically assisted.

Note, generally individuals currently in breach of a CPO are not suitable for SDS. On an exceptional basis, an individual in breach of a CPO could be recommended as suitable for inclusion where it is assessed that they are motivated to engage and there are unmet needs which require intensive support to overcome engagement barriers. The exceptional basis upon which such a recommendation is made requires to be fully addressed in the suitability assessment report provided to the court.

Research Methods
The data for the PL full-term evaluation report is drawn from two independent pieces of research for the SL and NL involvement in the ADPSC. The evaluation adopted a mixed methods approach to research design. This included using qualitative and quantitative methods to gather, analyse and report findings. Qualitative methods captured the experience of 53 participants involved in the ADPSC. This included 34 interviews, four questionnaires, nine service user feedback forms, four sets of written feedback from a single court observation and documentary analysis, two observational feedback form a single conference, and documentary analysis. Documentary analysis included 4 quarterly Court Process Report, 1 Impact Report, 1 Distance Travelled Export, screening documents, Justice Service User Feedback, Review of Identification of Potential SDS Cases, Outcome Star Chart, court referral sheets. Quantitative data presented in the report was gathered from a) a larger body of statistical data held by SL JSW on service users, b) statistical data held by NL JSW on service user completion rates, and c) statistical data provided by SACRO.

Findings and Recommendations
Findings for the report have been analysed in line with overarching objectives. In relation to Corra Foundation objectives, it was found that SL ADPSC had systemic and individual success. At the time of data analysis (November 2025) for the full-term report there had been a total of 105 service users placed on SDS within the pilot timeframe. 44 service users had completed their period on SDS: 16 were successfully admonished3 . 37 service users were still enrolled on SDS. While a further 24 service users had their SDS revoked4 . Both qualitative and statistical data reported improvements in the lives of service users, with offending and substance use generally decreasing for most service users. In accordance with SL JSW Smart Objectives:

-100% of service users on SDS who use substances had been provided pathways into either wider employment, housing, and some form of health and welfare opportunities.
- 77% of service users on SDS disposal were sustaining or had completed their period of support.
- 90% of service users received medically assisted treatment and/or recovery plans in conjunction with access to community-oriented recovery networks.

- 100% of SL service user families with lived experience had been provided with advice and support in the recovery journey.

In relation to PL JSW High Level Objectives:

- SL has seen a 10% reduction in drug deaths since 2023. NL has seen a 17% reduction in drug deaths since 2023. The report is limited in its capacity to conclude the specific impact that the ADPSC had on this figure. However, given that treatment, management and reduction of substance use has inevitably reduced the risk of drug and alcohol-related harms amongst the sample population to have received SDS, it can be assumed some impact has been made by the ADPSC as evidenced by overall reduction in drug deaths in PL.
- Only 23% of those on SDS had been removed due to breach and non-completion.
- Of those on SDS, 77% were prevented from further proceeding into the justice system, with 20% of this sample being successfully admonished.
- There was an overall reduction in the use of remand and short-term custodial sentencing for service users on SDS.
- Given current success, SDS should be made available as a long-term option to address offending caused by underlying substance issues.

Data indicates the ADPSC to have made a positive contribution to the wider criminal justice system and to the lived experience of service users on SDS. Several recommendations are given:

• PL JSW are currently meeting set objectives and, in some cases, surpassing these objectives. Wider drug death rates have decreased in PL. Any statistically significant impact which the ADPSC directly had on this success is difficult to quantify, yet qualitative evidence suggests ROJS and SDS Team have intervened with lifesaving treatment on a number of occasions. It can be assumed, given the cohort of service user which ROJS and SDS Team work with, and that intervention has taken place, the service will have had some impact on these decrease in drug death rates. Therefore, it is strongly recommended the ADPSC be continued and if possible, rolled out to other, relevant, local authorities.

• In line with wider academic literature on problem solving courts, ongoing evaluation of the service should be maintained. This can be external or internal. This would allow measurable success and necessary adjustments to be made if/when required.

• This recommendation is ROJS specific. Given ROJS employed a multiagency collaborative approach to support service user treatment and recovery this involves different organisations which each have their own diary systems. It is recommended that a single electronic diary system be introduced whereby joined up services can access staff dairies. Currently, staff rely on a voluntarily provided paper system.

• PL JSW should also consider, in the longer term, commissioning longitudinal research to explore potential correlations between the nature of the treatment and support offered to service users and the reduction in the number of remand and short-term custodial sentences issued in PL [this again being dependent on additional funding being awarded to PL JSW to continue operating the ADPSC beyond its funded current period].

• Currently there is no dedicated service to provide support, treatment and aid recovery for mental health issues within the ADPSC. The ADPSC should consider employing a mental health specialist or, in accordance with suggestions from wider literature on problem solving courts, operate a Mental Health Court.

• Housing was another prominent issue to come out of data findings. Collaboration with housing services should be strengthened to explore housing options for service users.

• Residential pathways were a huge success. Given the ROJS and SDS Team have more high tariff service users than initially anticipated, residential housing can play a vital part in the recovery process for those with entrenched substance use.