DRUG INTERVENTIONS PROGRAMME DELIVERING FOR US ALL Peter Wheelhouse Programme Director

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DRUG INTERVENTIONS PROGRAMME -DELIVERING FOR US
ALL Peter WheelhouseProgramme Director
ACPO CONFERENCE 2005

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Whats it all about

• first and foremost a crime reduction programme
• accessing offenders not in drug treatment and
  historically very hard to reach
• but in regular contact with Criminal Justice
  System
• make that contact drive engagement in treatment
• How? - combination of new law, changed working
  practices, new investment and stronger focus on
  partnership

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Achievements

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What have we done

• drug testing on charge in over 150 custody suites
  96 BCUs
• drug workers in all custody suites and many
  courts
• integrated teams in 70 areas
• Restriction on Bail power in CJA 2003 - now
  operating in 44 areas
• conditional cautioning CJA 2003
• funded 12 areas for integrated DIP and PPO
  working
• targeted interventions for children and YP
• new powers in 2005 Drugs Act testing on arrest
  and required assessment
• challenged some established concepts
• powerful new data including offending profiles
  etc

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Numbers into treatment via DIP are rising
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..and drug-related crime down by 12 - falling
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Police service are key partners

• frontend still absolutely crucial
• custody suite environment and attitudes determine
  engagement
• provisions such as Restriction on Bail need
  pro-active police involvement
• Drugs Act 2005 strengthens that role
• its a can-do culture
• police service has a wider view of drug activity

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Lessons learned

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What have we learned

• leadership/partnership is key in the field but
  often broken
• dont underestimate power of the professions
• workforce issues
• dont assume everyone knows what you want
• communication is part of the strategy not an
  add on
• data can be key to many things
• powerful source of change more to come!

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The biggie
.2 years into programme becoming increasingly
apparent that long term success no just about
treatment. Is about the entirety of services and
interventions.why?

• 75 of prisoners drug misusers
• 80 have literacy skills at or below 11yrs
• 67 unemployed
• 39 homeless
• 20 times more likely to have been excluded from
  schools
• 59 of prisoners re-offend within 2 years

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The future

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DIP will not last forever

• needs to be part of how we all work
• offender/case management is the way forward
• not just for those in prison..
• or those on statutory supervision
• but before during and after sentences
• ..and even when not offending!
• future structures will be important

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ways of working need constant evolution..

• focus rightly on offenders into treatment
• numbers significantly up
• but those not engaging most likely serious users
  and high volume offenders
• some volume crime stubbornly high
• need to use all tools available DIP, ASBOs,
  recovered assets - to best effect

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We can join up more

• Neighbourhood Policing central to way communities
  can tackle drugs issues
• local CJITs need to work with the Neighbourhood
  Policing Teams
• the most successful joint operations involve the
  CJITs, Housing Providers, Local Authorities etc
• treatment providers can help community based
  enforcement
• tackling dealers in isolation of users has
  limited impact on communities

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DIP works with other processes

• National Intelligence Model
• strategic and tactical products for tasking and
  co-ordinating operational resources
• problem profiles
• Level 1 enforcement activity should work 'hand in
  glove' with CJIT's
• DIP can improve level 2 activity
• manage the offender and not the offence look at
  the bigger picture

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A vision of the future

• more offenders into treatment
• exploit data, knowledge and intelligence we have
  to make drugs policing more effective
• drugs embedded from strategic force capability to
  Neighbourhood Policing
• the right long term structure
• more benefit to policing, offenders and most of
  all..
• reassurance to our communities

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Thank you