Officers feel they've been set up to fail. Cranstoun Drugs Services and charity Turning Point, two other DTTO contractors, both say it is too early to measure the effectiveness of the orders. If they've got nowhere to live, and are struggling with addiction, it's just not possible to stick to the programme. It's not really addressing issues about housing and employment. We're put into groups and asked to talk about our week.
Some people are very confused.
It's not that the staff don't want to help. The ethos is very good, but for a lot of people it's just a way of staying out of prison. We're being fobbed off. It hasn't been organised properly and it's just not working. The Home Office plans an evaluation of the scheme later this year.