NCJ Number
171043
Date Published
1998
Length
61 pages
Annotation
This report contains the findings of a study carried out from October 1994 to February 1995 to evaluate the impact of a new way of organizing services for people who came to the attention of the West Glamorgan Probation Service and indicated involvement in substance misuse.
Abstract
The new procedures and services included: (1) a new screening procedure which required probation officers to complete a standardized form concerning drug and alcohol problems whenever they prepared a pre-sentence report; (2) routine referral of all who indicated involvement with substance misuse for an assessment interview at the probation office by a specialist project worker from one of the partner agencies; and (3) development, where appropriate, of a plan for treatment or assistance which could be drawn to the attention of the sentencing court, and implemented if a probation order was made (or perhaps voluntarily if the offender remained at liberty on some other basis). This report describes the development of the project design, the early implementation of the design, the results of the screening and assessment process during the first months of the project, the impact of the new procedures on pre-sentence reports writing and the views of sentencers, and presents an overall appraisal of the early impact of the scheme. Tables, appendixes, references