Police Target 80 Serial Criminals For Rehabilitation

Some of Scotland’s worst serial offenders, such as shoplifters, housebreakers and prostitutes, are to be given the choice of signing up to drugs and alcohol rehabilitation or being pro-actively targeted by police.

Glasgow’s 80 most-prolific offenders are to be offered a range of benefits including counselling, education and housing if they agree to stop committing crimes. Those who refuse to sign up to the persistent offender programme (Pop) will come under intense scrutiny from officers and ultimately be sent to prison.

The four divisions around the city centre have already drawn up lists of their top 20 most prolific offenders and dozens of them have been contacted and have agreed to sign up to the programme. Those with alcohol problems regularly caught for low-level crimes of dishonesty and violence will also be included on the list.

The pilot scheme, which will run for two years, is based on the Tower project in Blackpool which provides rehabilitation services instead of arresting and imprisoning drug users.

It began in January 2002 and that year saw a 44.8% reduction in housebreaking, 22% reduction in other burglaries, and a 25% drop in vehicle thefts.

The Glasgow programme already has the backing of Scotland’s chief police officers and could be rolled out nationally depending on its success.

“Drug and alcohol misuse is a major factor in crime,” said Superintendent Graham Cairns, who is responsible for social inclusion within the Strathclyde force. “The Pop is mainly aimed at the small minority of persistent offenders in the Glasgow city area who finance a substance misuse problem by committing acquisitive crimes or prostitution offences. This can even include robberies or housebreaking. With strong support and access to the right treatment and care, many of these offenders can be helped.

“We can’t force anyone to accept help and, in the end, Strathclyde Police is a law enforcement agency. If offenders choose to continue to misuse and offend, we have a duty to protect the public – if that means making arrests and putting offenders to court, then so be it.”

More than £700,000 has been provided by the Glasgow Community Planning Partnership for the two-year project which will target 80 offenders each year.

Research shows that for every £1 spent on drug treatment, £3 is recuperated for public services. Figures also indicate that addicts with a £300-a-day addiction have to steal £900 worth of goods a day to support it.

The programme, which will be run with the support of the procurators-fiscal, will help addicts with arranging doctors’ and dental appointments, education, housing and employment rather than adding to Scotland’s burgeoning prison population.

Neil Hunter, head of addiction services at the city council, said: “This is part of a range of measures aimed at making Glasgow city centre safer.”