A different kind of justice — inside Scotland’s alcohol and drug problem-solving court

Scotland, and indeed Britain as a whole, is amid a penal crisis. Dr Robert McLean, criminal justice lecturer, Education and Social Sciences at the University of the West of Scotland, considers if it's time for an alternative approach.

An alternative approach to justice

Scotland, and indeed Britain as a whole, is amid a penal crisis. Despite Scotland, generally, seeing an overall decline in crimes rates since the early 2000s there has nonetheless been some significant spikes regarding certain types of crime. As a result, incarceration rates have increased. It was expected that the prison capacity would breach its 9,000 limit (BBC, 2024) by early 2025. Scottish Legal (2025) notes that while operational capacity is closer to 9,000, the actual existing design capacity of Scotland’s prisons is 7,805. In response, initiatives were rolled out and emergency legislation was drafted to ease the strain. These included widening diversion from prosecution, early release and changes to sentencing guidelines for those under 25 years of age. While these have been met with some success, several issues remain. By the end of 2025 the backlog for Crown Cases in England and Wales stood at almost 80,000 (BBC, 2025), which led to discussions in favour of removing jury trials for crimes that carry a likely sentence of less than three years. Scotland faces similar issues and, despite some ebb and flow, Scotland’s prison population was over 8,300 by the end of 2025. This increase was largely driven by increased remand and long-term sentencing (Scottish Parliament, 2025).

Strain on the country’s criminal justice system has seen reformers continue to emphasise the need to introduce alternative disposal and sentencing mechanisms that go further than those currently available. Several commentators even stress the need to fully embrace rehabilitative and restorative practices in an effort to steer those in conflict with the law away from the penal system altogether and halt the ‘revolving door’ of the prison population (Anderson, 2024). Early intervention and reducing problematic substance use in the first instance have both been identified as particularly important areas for prevention (Deuchar, McLean & Holligan, 2022). As such, some local authorities have seen problem-solving courts (PSCs) as a way to embed welfarist approaches into a traditionally punitive criminal justice system (Deuchar & Sapouna, 2016). The current justice system requires not only alternative, but also effective, intervention and prevention.

As such, in December 2023 a PSC focused on addressing problematic substance use was rolled out from Hamilton Sheriff Court (HSC). South Lanarkshire Justice Social Work (JSW) and North Lanarkshire JSW, working in conjunction with HSC, would implement Scotland’s first Alcohol and Drug Problem Solving Court (ADPSC). As a researcher in the field, I had been invited to take part in the evaluation. 

Problem-solving justice

Problem-solving justice (PSJ) is an umbrella term given to court-based approaches tackling problematic social, health and lifestyle issues linked to repeated patterns of offending. The PSC is one specific aspect of this approach (Ward, 2018). PSCs essentially seek to use the legislative authority allocated to the court to underpin therapeutic, rehabilitative and restorative aspects of community-based sentencing. PSCs utilise a multi-disciplinary approach to treatment, carried out in community settings and supported by regular court reviews to monitor progress. PSCs will typically apply particular specialisms, whether centred on specific needs, specific crimes or specific groups (Whitehead, 2017).  

While PSCs are usually located in adult criminal court settings, they have at times been adapted for family and juvenile jurisdictions. They first emerged in the USA and have since been applied to Brazil, Canada, Australia and the European context, including the UK. A growing body of international work has been found to largely support their application when delivered to the right population within the appropriate context. There is strong evidence that PSCs can significantly reduce patterns of offending, improve court compliance and generate state savings (Bowen & Whitehead, 2015).

The need for PSCs in the Scottish context is evident. At the time of the ADPSC inception National Records of Scotland (2023) identified drug harms in the country to be approximately double that of the North-East of England and almost six times higher than London. Drug deaths have consistently been the highest in Europe since 2018 (National Records of Scotland, 2025a). With 1,051 recorded drug deaths in 2022, Scotland had a drug death rate of 248 per million, compared to second-placed England (88) and third-placed Finland (79) (National Office of Statistics, 2023). Quarterly analysis from Rapid Action Drug Alert and Response (RADAR) worryingly found an of increase of 121 deaths in 2023 (Scottish Government, 2023). In 2024 some success reduced deaths to 1,017: a decrease of 13%, but Scotland remains drug death capital of Europe.

Data from National Records of Scotland (2025a) indicates males are more than twice as likely to have a drug misuse death as females. The age profile of drug deaths has become older, with the average age increasing from 32 years in 2000 to 45 years in 2024. Those from the most deprived areas of Scotland were 12 times more likely to have a drug death compared with people in the least deprived areas. This is notable when contrasted against all causes of death, whereby people in the most deprived areas are around twice as likely to die as those in the least deprived areas. Again, not all areas of Scotland saw an equal decrease in drug deaths. Drug deaths decreased in 21 council areas, yet increased in nine, while remaining unchanged in two. The largest decreases between 2023 and 2024 were in Glasgow, Edinburgh and North Lanarkshire (with a decrease of 18 deaths). Yet these areas also have the highest number of drug misuse deaths, as well as larger populations. In 2024 South Lanarkshire saw 64 drug deaths: a decrease from 71 in 2023. In Scotland the most common drugs implicated in drug deaths were opiates/opioids (80% of deaths), benzodiazepines (56%) and cocaine (47%), and 91% of deaths were classified as accidental poisoning.

While alcohol-related deaths are down from their peak in 2008/2009, they still remain high in the UK (Public Health Scotland, 2023). National Records of Scotland (2025b) reports that the country saw 1,185 alcohol-specific deaths, with an overall 7% decrease (92 fewer) from 2023. This marked the lowest figure since 2019. However, alcohol deaths are not evenly distributed across Scotland. Like drug use, most deaths occur in areas with higher rates of deprivation. Again, middle-aged and older males are more at risk of alcohol-related death. Behind Glasgow, North Lanarkshire had the second highest alcohol-related deaths (101) and South Lanarkshire the fifth highest (75). While the difference between Scotland and other UK countries has narrowed over the last two decades, Scotland still has the highest number of alcohol-related deaths in Britain. A number of wider harms are also alcohol related. Prison surveys have identified that over 50% of young people in conflict with the law are under the influence of alcohol when they commit their first offence. Indeed, almost 40% of all violent crime is alcohol related. Although, there is a steady trend in the amount of young people aged between 16 and 21 who report they do not drink, Deuchar, McLean and Holligan (2022) note that drug use may simply have replaced alcohol as a primary means of intoxication among younger populations. 

Given the social and cultural context of Scotland, it is perhaps unsurprising that the country is among those leading the way in PSC development. Whitehead (2017) notes that prior to the ADPSC Scotland retained a small but well-established body of PSCs, including localities in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Forfar. The history of PSCs in Scotland can be dated back to 2001 with the opening of Glasgow Drug Court. Located in Glasgow Sheriff Court, the Drug Court oversaw the management of service users on Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs) through a dedicated multi-disciplinary treatment service. Service users would also undergo regular judicial monitoring (McIvor, 2009).

Whitehead (2017) notes that, as well as specialist sites, problem-solving principles adopted by the courts have influenced the development of mainstream sentencing – for example, the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act (CJLSA) 2010 gave all courts the power to implement progress reviews for anyone sentenced with a Community Payback Order (CPO). This approach was further resolved by the 2012 Angiolini Commission publication on Women Offenders (Scottish Government, 2012). Courts can now draw on the CJLSA and existing local resources to provide sustainable problem-solving approaches specific to contextual needs.

Findings from Lanarkshire’s ADPSC

In 2023 the ADPSC would run in HSC over the duration of a two-year period, from December 2023 to December 2025. As part of Corra Foundation funding allocated to the pilot, it was agreed that mid-term and full-term independent evaluations should take place. I agreed to undertake these evaluations. Having spent over a decade and a half researching the growing trend of youth and gang violence, drug-related organised crime, drug harms and death rates in Scotland (see Holligan, McLean & Rice, 2021; Mclean, 2018, 2019; McLean, Deuchar & Moore, 2020; McPhee et al, 2019) I was sceptical this new initiative would have any real lasting effect or success. I could not have been more wrong.

Given South Lanarkshire JSW and North Lanarkshire JSW are two independent bodies within the wider Lanarkshire region, both partook in the ADPSC under their own jurisdiction and with their own objectives. South Lanarkshire’s specific unit for the ADPSC was named the Recovery Orientated Justice Service (ROJS), while North Lanarkshire operated through its Structured Deferred Sentence Team (SDS Team). Both the ROJS and SDS Team work with service users, who were required to be residents of Lanarkshire, aged between 25 and 55, at risk of custody, and have a substance use dependency via alcohol and drugs that contributed to their offending. Operating within the framework of a public health model, both ROJS and the SDS Team would adopt trauma-informed approaches to work with those accepted onto the ADPSC to tailor their individualised treatment and rehabilitation plans (McLean, 2025a, 2025b). The individually tailored programmes were then supported by a dedicated court process through court-imposed structured deferred sentences (SDS). While the SDS is non-statutory, it operates as a recognised judicial mechanism and sits within the broader powers granted to courts under Section 202 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, which allows judges to defer a sentence for a set period and impose conditions. This enabled practitioners to operate on the principles of support and recovery, as opposed to punitive intervention. While service users were supported with a wide range of practitioners, ranging from support workers and social workers to recovery workers and a dedicated nursing team, intervention was intense but fair. Responsibility was at the feet of the service users themselves. Indeed, regular meetings with dedicated sheriffs, also supported the process from conception to completion, and would prove to be a key motivator for driving service user motivation towards SDS completion (McLean, 2025c).

The research evaluation itself adopted a mixed-methods approach to design. This included using qualitative and quantitative methods to gather, analyse and report findings. Qualitative methods captured the experience of 59 participants involved in the ADPSC. These included 34 interviews, four questionnaires, nine service user feedback forms, 10 sets of written feedback from two court observations and documentary analysis, two observational feedback from a single conference, and documentary analysis (McLean, 2025a, 2025b).

At the time of data analysis (November 2025) 105 service users were placed on SDS within the pilot timeframe. Forty-four service users had completed their period on SDS, of which 16 were successfully admonished. Thirty-seven service users were still enrolled on SDS, while a further 24 had their SDS revoked. Overall, both qualitative and statistical data reported improvements in the lives of service users, with offending and substance use generally decreasing for most of them. In accordance with South Lanarkshire JSW Smart Objectives, it was found that 100% of service users had been provided pathways into either wider employment, housing, and some form of health and welfare opportunities; 77% of service users on SDS disposal were sustaining or had completed their period of support; 90% of service users received medically assisted treatment and/or recovery plans in conjunction with access to community-oriented recovery networks; and 100% of service user families within South Lanarkshire had been provided with advice and support in the recovery journey. In addition, broader objectives, aligned with a reduction in drug death rates in the local authority area, saw South Lanarkshire present a 10% reduction in drug deaths since 2023. North Lanarkshire saw a 17% reduction in drug deaths over the same period (McLean, 2025a, 2025b). 

Statistical evidence suggested that the ADPSC had achieved, and in many cases surpassed, those objectives set out from the start. While somewhat more difficult to quantify, qualitative evidence was likewise equally positive. An interesting theme to emerge was around discussions as to what success actually looked like on the ground. Such discussion got to the very heart of Scotland’s problematic relationship with alcohol, drug use and offending. It was quickly recognised by sheriffs, ROJS staff and the STS Team that success could come in many forms. For some, success was completing their period of SDS; for others, it was having their charge admonished. Yet for some, success could present itself in gaining an ability to reduce alcohol and/or drug intake, or even to reconnect with loved ones through the much-supported healing process. The qualitative data that emerged from in-depth interviews with service users strongly suggested that most – but not all – of those given an SDS disposal had personal life stories often marred by tragedy, hardship and abuse (at times both sexual and physical). For many service users, alcohol and/or drugs were not viewed as a problem at all, but rather a solution (McLean, 2025c). That is a solution to those problems brought about by life, in one way or another. Substance use generally provided some form of escapism from most of the service users interviewed. Intoxication enabled those using substances to break free from wider issues associated with the personal, social, economic and cultural context that they found themselves in. The ability of those involved in supporting service users to recognise this fundamental truth underpinned the ADPSC ethos and undoubtedly contributed to its success (whatever that may looked like). 

Moving forward 

Despite the success, challenges remain. The service itself has largely become tailored to supporting a cohort of service users who have increasingly complex lifestyles alongside deeply entrenched substance use and offending behaviour. Success, solely in terms of SDS completion rate and sustained abstinence, may therefore become somewhat hindered moving forward. While targeting an entrenched cohort can prove beneficial in tackling those minority groups that persistently offend and reoffend, it can also overlook over groups. Widening the service to include a cohort of service users who are first-time offenders may prove beneficial in that any admonishment would prove effective in removing a person form the criminal justice system by removing the charge from their criminal record. As such, this can aid service users in that they can break from a life of crime before their lives become more intrinsically intertwined with patterns of substance use and offending.

Yet, while some limitations remain, and it is still early days, it has been found that the ADPSC can make a positive contribution towards changes within the wider criminal justice and addiction system. The ADPSC has the potential to change the direction of national standards for the delivery of Community Payback Orders (CPOs) across Scotland for individuals who are in conflict with the law via substance use. By adopting a public health model and utilising an inclusive, person-centred approach, service users, alongside their families, are able to have an input into individually tailored services. A number of recommendations were put forward that may help improve the ADPSC as it continues to proceed and adapt to an ever-changing, and somewhat unstable, political environment. 

In line with wider academic literature on PSCs, the service should maintain an ongoing series of intermittent evaluations. These can be external or internal, and would allow measurable success and necessary adjustments to be made if/when required. Likewise, Lanarkshire JSW should also consider, in the longer term, commissioning longitudinal research exploring potential correlations. Come what may, however the ADPSC proceeds, one thing is for certain: PSCs are certainly proved effect over the last two decades in the Scottish context and are here to stay. 

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