Annex B - Definitions

The following section provides a brief description of the main types of justice social work activity encompassed within this report.

Justice social work reports (JSWRs):

The justice social work report, previously known as the criminal justice social work report (CJSWR), has been required in Scotland since February 2011 and was renamed following updated national guidance in 2023. The JSWR provides the court with a social worker’s professional assessment. This report assists in the sentencing process and complements the range of other considerations, such as victim information and narratives from the Procurator Fiscal. In particular, the JSWR provides information on social work interventions and how these may prevent or reduce further offending. A court must request a JSWR:

• before imposing a custodial sentence for the first time or where a person is under 21
• when imposing a community payback order (CPO) with a supervision requirement or a level 2 (over 100 hours) unpaid work or other activity requirement
• when imposing a drug treatment and testing order
• when the person is already subject to statutory supervision.

More information on JSWRs can be found in the most recent guidance Justice social work - reports and court-based services: practice guidance - gov.scot.

Community Payback Orders (CPOs):

The CPO was introduced by the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010. The CPO replaced provisions for community service, probation and supervised attendance orders for offences committed from 1 February 2011 onwards. It is available to all courts, with some restrictions applying to justice of the peace courts in relation to treatment and programme requirements. CPOs can include up to ten different requirements, most commonly unpaid work and/or supervision. Courts may not impose unpaid work on someone under 16 years old. Supervision must be imposed for someone aged under 18. More information on the CPO is in the most recent community payback order practice guidance.

Drug treatment and testing orders (DTTOs):

The DTTO is a high tariff disposal for people with serious substance use related to their offending, who might otherwise receive a custodial sentence. This order includes the need for regular reviews by the court and for the person to consent to frequent random drug tests throughout the lifetime of the order. On the basis of these regular reviews, the judiciary may, among other courses of action, vary the conditions of the order. This may include varying the frequency of testing, varying the type of treatment or the frequency of attendance at treatment, revoking the order on the basis that satisfactory progress has been made or, in the event of non-compliance, revoking the order and re-sentencing the person for the original offence.

DTTOs have been available in most Scottish courts since 1999–2002, except justice of the peace courts.

More information on the DTTO can be found in the  Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTO): guidance for schemes.