Recommendation 83

And when treatment is nominally available, it is not always completed. Justin Russell said that HMIP had “followed an entire quarterly cohort of people” who had been given a Drug Rehabilitation Requirement. They found that “only half of them had actually completed the DRR” and that “there had been very little drug testing”. Justin Russell also flagged that “in nine out of 10 orders, there had been no court oversight”, arguing that it “is a crucial part of the order; you go back to court to report on your progress”. 158 The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners explained that they “were told through the judiciary that review appointments for Drug Rehabilitation Requirements (DRRs) had stopped because people weren’t attending, there were no sanctions for this, and it simply tied up court time which could be better used”. 159 Dr Carly Lightowlers, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, University of Liverpool, shared similar findings about Alcohol Treatment Requirements, citing a study by the Ministry of Justice and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities: “fewer than half (46%) of those sentenced to an ATR engage with any treatment and just under half of those who do go on to complete it ‘successfully’ (48%), with most continuing to use alcohol”. 160