growth in testing market

I've said before that news stories about new initiatives in drug testing appear almost every day. This seems to be very much continuing into 2008.

Just found this BBC news report about a pilot drug treatment and testing orders (DTTO) in Scotland - which will be rolled out across the country if successful. The DTTO's are interesting - big economic incentive to get as many addicts on them as possible because the program (involving regular drug tests and management) costs only 10,000 pounds a year compared to 35,000 pounds for a year in prison - and it also reduces drug use.

The opposition is also calling for mandatory testing of ALL new prisoners.

As Sicilly has been telling us, the success of SBN largely depends on mamagement working up a critical mass of sales. This is absolutely right.

It also seems to me that this task is getting easier every day - as the testing markets are increasing rapidly in market areas being targeted by SBN.

Here's a copy of the BBC report:

"Call for drug testing of inmates

All prisoners should face drug testing when they are admitted to jail, the Scottish Conservatives have said.
The call came as the Scottish Government announced it was extending drug treatment and testing orders to petty offenders as part of a pilot.

DTTOs are currently only targeted at serious criminals.

The Tories welcomed the move but urged ministers to go even further and test all inmates when they are imprisoned and at regular intervals afterwards.

'Dependent on drugs'

The party's community safety spokesman John Lamont said: "Today's announcement again does not go that far - this is an objective we will continue to press for.

"If we do not know the extent of the problem, we cannot hope to address it."

If a prisoner refuses to comply, they should be treated as if they are dependent on drugs and have their privileges ended, Mr Lamont said.

If the pilot in Lothian and Borders proves successful, Community Safety Minister Fergus Ewing said it could be rolled out across Scotland.

Mr Ewing said ministers wanted to build on the current success of DTTOs which can help move drug users into treatment and support services.


If we are successful in our aim it will mean that this group of offenders will not graduate to more serious offending careers
Fergus Ewing
Community safety minister

"DTTOs have a positive impact on drug use and offending," he said.

"After six months on an order an addict's expenditure on drugs decreased from an average of £490 per week pre-sentence to an average of £57 per week.

"Despite having extensive prior criminal histories, almost half of those who complete their orders have no further convictions within two years."

The average cost of a DTTO is about £10,000, while the average cost of prison is approximately £35,000 per year.

The minister added that even those who did not complete the orders had demonstrated reduced reconviction rates but said they currently focussed on offenders who had committed a "vast amount" of crimes to fund their addiction.

"There is opportunity to extend DTTOs for use with those offenders who are at an earlier stage in their offending career," he added.

"If we are successful in our aim it will mean that this group of offenders will not graduate to more serious offending careers."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/scotland/7168420.stm

Published: 2008/01/03 00:31:59 GMT