A NEW drive to break the link between drug addiction and crime is now targeting offenders in Bolton.

Drug Treatment and Testing Orders have just come into force.

And the first DTTO to be issued in Greater Manchester has been handed down at Bolton Crown Court.

Little Hulton woman Yvonne Best was given the order as her sentence for shoplifting and perverting the course of justice.

Best, of Petunia Walk, was told during the court hearing on Thursday that she will be brought back before the judge on a monthly basis to check she is staying clean from drugs.

The Government has brought in the new community sentence in a bid to break the link between drug addiction and offending and is available to all courts in England and Wales.

The order obliges offenders to undergo treatment for between six months and three years and was developed in consultation with treatment providers, sentencers and the probation service.

DTTOs will be targeted at problem drug users aged 16 and over who: commit crime to fund their drugs habit; show a willingness to co-operate with treatment; and are before the court for an offence serious enough to gain a community sentence.

Under a DTTO, offenders are tested regularly for drug use and the results, together with treatment providers' reports, provide a clear indication of progress.

After initial sentence, offenders appear again before the courts at least once to review their progress.

This is the first time that courts in England and Wales will have a formal role in the reviewing process.

Paul Boateng, Home Office Minister, said: "There is emerging evidence that a small number of drug users are responsible for a huge amount of crime.

"DTTOs will help break the link between drug misuse and crime by getting offenders to stop committing crimes, and ultimately get them off drugs for good.

"Following the Spending Review, we have put in place £20 million for DTTO implementation over the next six months, with a further £40 million for 2001/2.

"This will ensure probation services and their partners have adequate funding to secure treatment for offenders."

The national orders follows three successful pilot schemes in Croydon, Liverpool and Gloucestershire which ran from October 1, 1998, to March 31, 2000.

An interim evaluation report of the pilots published last November showed the average number of crimes committed per month by offenders on DTTOs fell dramatically from 107 to 10, while their average weekly spend on illegal drugs showed a significant reduction from £400 to £30.

Current estimates indicate that a DTTO costs approximately £6,000.