Crown Court Judge Peter Ross talks exclusively to the Oxford Mail about the importance of getting criminals the support they need to tackle drink and drug addictions. The Oxford Crown Court judge says it is vital to get recovering addicts into accommodation after they've been into prison so they can start to rebuild their lives and get back on the straight and narrow.

JUDGE Peter Ross says the courts must do what they can to help criminals tackle drug and alcohol abuse and get back into work, according to a county judge.

Speaking to the Oxford Mail the crown court judge stressed it was vital to get ex-criminals into accommodation where they can find work and get back on their feet.

Judge Ross said unless courts can help prisoners tackle drug and alcohol problems offends will commit more crimes.

Courts can hand out drug and alcohol rehabilitation orders to criminals who are given suspended or community sentences.

The orders mean the offender has to keep off the substance and attend regular meetings or face going to jail.

Judge Ross added: "Drug abuse underpins a lot of acquisitive offending, alcohol abuse underpins a lot of violent offending.

"It seems to me to be a no brainer that if the gravity of the offence is not such it has to be an immediate sentence of imprisonment then the long-term benefit to society is if successful, these orders will prevent the commission of crime.

"It's as simple as that."

The latest figures from the Ministry of Justice show 36.3 per cent of 331 criminals reoffended between October 2012 and September 2013 - committing an average of 2.4 reoffences between them.

But the reoffending rate has dropped from a high of 38.7 per cent of 463 convicts committing further crimes between January and December 2011.

Judge Ross' comments come after former Cabinet Minister Jonathan Aitken hosted a talk about reoffending at the Saïd Business School last month.

The former chief secretary to the Treasury - who was jailed for perjury in 1999 - said courts should monitor their sentences to make sure offenders were getting the support they need.

Judge Ross runs a review court in Oxford every month where he sits down with offenders he has sentenced to check if they are complying with his orders.

Although the hearings are in court, Judge Ross does not wear his wig or robes and sits with the offender, their probation officer and health workers to discuss their progress.

Judge Ross stressed it can be a long and difficult road for convicts to get off the drugs, and he sometimes has to threaten imposing their prison sentence to get them back on track.

He added: "The greatest risk of their return to drugs is within the first few hours of release.

"It could be a long road to abstinence, what you are looking for is fairy steps, little steps - are they keeping their appointments, are you seeing more clean tests?

"There are times when you have to threaten custody, I have had two cases recently where it was the threat of custody, the sheer terror of custody, that has made them stop.

"You have got to be tough with them."

But he said it was very rewarding when an offender successfully kicks their habit and gets back on their feet and added: "It's a hugely fulfilling part of our work, and it's wonderful when you see an offender succeed."

Sitting in his office at Oxford Crown Court, the judge points out a portrait on his wall which he was given by an ex-offender.

He said the painter had battled a crack cocaine habit and was a "medical miracle" because despite his protests he was not taking drugs any more, every time he was tested before coming to court the results came back positive.

But at his last review with Judge Ross, the offender produced a clean drug test and said he had been painting.

The judge - who is used to presiding over complex drug, murder and sex crime trials - said it was very emotional when the man pulled out a portrait at his last review.

Now a copy of the portrait sits on the wall by Judge Ross' office door and he said: "It was very moving when he produced the original of that painting.

"I said it was very beautiful and he said he would get me a copy.

"I have always had it hanging next to my door because it's a very good reminder before you go into court that people can change and the court can play a part in making those changes in people's lives."

The judge, who has been running review courts for 12 years, said the most important way to rehabilitate convicts is to get them off the streets so they can find work.

Judge Ross stressed how as well as housing, offenders coming out of prison need personal support and purpose - be it a job or training or voluntary work.

He added: "Accommodation is the most important because how can they get a job if they don't have an address to communicate with their prospective employer?

"Then there is personal support, but very close to that is the need for purposeful activity leading to work because it gives a sense of worth."

But the former prosecutor admitted not every criminal will successfully complete their drug or alcohol rehabilitation orders and then he has to impose a prison sentence.

He added: "We take a risk when we make these orders and one of the things I am doing when I carry out my reviews is to assess whether there is progress."