The Home Office is claiming that 546 Drug Treatment and Testing Orders have been made since October last year with only 20 breaches. First off, let's just say, that this last statement is a complete load of bollocks!

 

The breach rate for the experimental DTTO was 50% and Harry Fletcher (head of the Probation Officers union) says breach figures nationally are running ahead of the experimental schemes. The real explanation is that this 20 are all the Home office know about and getting cases of breach to court takes awhile. But we thought it would be a bit of a wheeze to work out how much this new 'get tough' policy is costing. All in all the Government is spending £40 MILLION this year on DTTOs. Let's say 600 orders will have been made by the end of this month (April) that's six months of the money. Costs of these is £20 millions and remember, there's at least a 50% failure rate on top of the low numbers. What else could we buy with such a sum and still save Gordon Brown, our Chancellor, some money.


# Send users to prison. It's where they'll end up anyway when they breach.
Cost for 6 months £12,000. GORDON GETS £21, 000


# Give 'em what they want. Diamorphine script. Cost for 6 months £6,000.
GORDON GETS £27,000


# For those who don't like pharmaceuticals, give 'em street heroin.
Cost £18,000 for 6 months. GORDON GETS £15,000


# Social Inclusion offer. £3,000 mortgage for 6 months, £2,000 educational fees, £6,000 salary. Total for 6 months £11,000 GORDON GETS £22,000


# Reinforcement. Testing every three days. £100 per clean urine. 60 tests in six months, all clean cost £6,000. GORDON GETS £27,000


# Integrated care pathway. Heroin script + mortgage+job+training+ testing every 3 days and £100 per clean urine test. Total cost for six months £23,000.
GORDON STILL GETS £10,000 BACK TO SPEND ON PENSIONERS!


And, one last thought, if the failure rate is so high, as we said two issues ago think twice before you opt for one. From what we've heard people in some areas of the country are picking up some serious bird if they're taken back to court for breach. One knowledgeable individual suggested that for some areas, it could mean the difference between a three and a five. So, make sure you can meet all the barmy requirements built in to these orders before you say 'Yes'. I think we'll send this issue direct to Gordon Brown.