Problem solving justice: mid-term findings from Scotland first alcohol and drug problem-solving court

This presentation reports findings from the mid-term evaluation of the two-year pilot Alcohol and Drug Problem Solving Court (ADPSC) operating out of Hamilton Sheriff Court, between December 2023-December 2025, and overseen by South Lanarkshire (SL) Justice Social Work (JSW). Over the past five years, drug deaths in Scotland have remained not only the highest in the UK, but also Europe (Scottish Government, 2022). Determined to tackle the problem, adhering to the 2023 national mission statement, SL JSW, working in partnership with Hamilton Sheriff Court (HSC) and third sector organisations, adopted a blended statutory and third sector service provision to best utilise collaboration efforts to provide service users with a public health, trauma-informed strategy, taking a whole system approach to aiding recovery-oriented treatment. The mid-term report adopted a mixed methods approach. Qualitative methods used to carry out the evaluation included a total of 17 interviews, 3 questionnaires, 4 sets of written feedback from a single court observation and documentary analysis. In total the report captures the views and experiences of 24 participants involved with SL ADPSC. The sample included SL JSW social workers, support workers, nurse, service users, service user family members, and sheriffs. Quantitative data presented in the report was gathered from a) a larger body of statistical data held by SL council and b) involved third sector organisations. Findings are overwhelmingly positive with data indicating the ADPSC to be making positive contributions to the wider criminal justice system and the lived experience of service users on Structured Deferred Sentence (SDS).