Drug addict to spend Christmas in jail as report is not ready

A woman with a“long history of drug abuse”will spend the entire festive season behind bars while a report is prepared to help her tackle her problem.

Thirty-eight-year-old Joanne Mayor, originally from Crieff, was to have been sentenced at Perth Sheriff Court last Friday (December 4) after pleading guilty to a catalogue of crime to fund her habit.

But the Drug Treatment and Testing Order (DTTO) requested last month was not available.

Her lawyer asked that his client, who has been living in Perth’s Scott Street but was currently on remand in Greenock Prison, be freed on bail while the report was prepared.

He told the court:“She has a long history of drug abuse, with shoplifting being the main source of funding for that.

“She’s a woman who needs help. The DTTO was essentially the only other option available for Miss Mayor.”

The solicitor told the sheriff:“You will be aware of the benefits of the report being done in the community.”

He said she could be made subject to a curfew or banned from Perth shopping outlets as conditions of bail.

But Sheriff Neil Bowie remanded her in custody until January 6, principally because of her lengthy criminal record.

He also noted that there was a “plethora”of offences before the court.

“Hopefully they can be dealt with on the next occasion and the report which has been sought will hopefully give you some assistance.”

He told Mayor:“I don’t think it’s appropriate to grant bail.”

Mayor had originally been allowed her freedom when the DTTO was called for on November 6.

She admitted stealing more than £1100 worth of goods, including a heart rate monitor and laptop, from a medical centre in Perth’s Scott Street, along with a raft of shoplifting offences from local stores.

But she was back in court just over a week later and pled guilty to a further series of thefts from local shops.

She was remanded after it emerged she was subject to three bail orders at the time.

Social workers once feared that Mayor, formerly of Turretbank Road, Crieff, was “going to kill herself”because of her spiralling drug problem.

If the court decides to impose a DTTO she could be supervised for up to three years.

Mandatory drug testing is an integral component of the scheme.