News & events
Back to Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) E-bulletinsDIP E-bulletin - March 2009
Welcome to the March 2009 edition of the monthly e-bulletin for the Drug Interventions Programme.
DIP expansion in Wales, Bedfordshire and Blackpool
The Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) has grown in phases, both geographically and in terms of its scope, since its launch in 2003. 1 April 2009 sees a further significant expansion, introducing new areas of DIP ‘intensive’ activity in Wales and some parts of England.
The main elements of this are:
- the expansion of DIP drug testing, via the introduction of Testing of Arrest in Wales, Bedfordshire and Blackpool where Testing on Charge only has mostly been operating until now
- the consequent introduction in those same areas of the two-stage Required Assessment, which is a mandatory drugs assessment for anyone testing positive
- the introduction of Restriction on Bail in Wales, meaning that people who test positive for Class A drugs and who appear before any court in England and Wales can have the restriction applied to their bail
These changes bring a much greater standardisation to the interventions for dealing with drug-misusing offenders in many parts of England and Wales. They extend the reach of the programme by identifying more drug-misusing offenders, helping grip them and facing them with tough choices about getting out of crime and into treatment to the benefit of everyone.
The introduction of Testing on Arrest in these additional areas means that thousands more people will be tested and given a drugs assessment, including those who do not go on to face charges. More than 240,000 tests for Class A substances are already conducted every year and approximately 37% of tests are positive, showing that the right people are being targeted.
In the past six years, more than 172,000 drug-misusing offenders have gone into treatment because of the Drug Interventions Programme and this expansion will help drive up the number even further.
From 1 April, there will be 174 custody suites in 105 police basic command units across England and Wales operating DIP ‘intensive’ interventions.
To aid the inclusion of Wales in the ‘intensive’ arrangements, a range of bi-lingual forms and communications materials have been introduced and these forms are included in revised guidance.
DIP funding for 2009-10
The Drug Interventions Programme budget for 2009-10 is now confirmed; the programme will be receiving the same allocation in 2009-10 as it did in 2008-09.
Programme Director Sally Richards said, ‘This is excellent news is this current financial climate, and means that we will be able to maintain DIP Main Grant funding for all areas at the same level as this year.’
‘I’m very grateful to our internal finance team who managed to send out all the confirmation letters very quickly. This enables areas to move forward with local planning and contract decisions.’
DIP staff are also finalising the drug testing funding and have invited police forces that carry out drug testing to bid for match funding for Police Strategic Leads.
Update on the DIP review
The DIP review is now well underway and visits are taking place to selected sites. Many visits have been arranged very quickly and programme leads in the central team say that, as always, they have been hugely impressed by the ways areas have responded positively and by their generosity in sharing their thoughts and time to enrich the picture of local delivery.
As part of the further data gathering, DIP managers have been sent a questionnaire to gather some factual data on local DIP schemes and attitudinal data on how things are working.
Drug testing reaches Sun Hill?
Production staff at television drama The Bill have been learning more about DIP and the interventions based in police stations with a view to mirroring real life by having Testing on Arrest and Required Assessment at the fictional Sun Hill police station.
Tracy Beswick, DIP drug testing lead, and Gillian Radcliffe, the unit's communications adviser, visited the set of the programme to encourage the production team to present the viewing public with a more realistic picture of how drug-misusing offenders are dealt with.
A drug testing kit is expected to be introduced into the custody suite and scriptwriters are going to consult over possible new storylines in the summer involving drug offences as the programme moves to a new weekly post-watershed timeslot.
Information needed urgently to help shape job vetting decisions
Inspector Sue Cockerill from Northamptonshire needs the help of local DIP teams to identify recent cases that might help shape police vetting policy for drug misusers involved in certain types of employment.
Sue works with all police forces as a main liaison contact for disclosure of police information under several national vetting schemes, including the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), Notifiable Occupations and the forthcoming Vetting and Barring Scheme that will operate through the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).
These bodies and schemes have been set up to ensure appropriate vetting of volunteers and employees in environments involving the protection of national security, children and vulnerable people, probity and administration of justice. The police have to follow a recognised process to ensure that their decision-making is fair, relevant and proportionate in respect of any individual applying to work in the sectors above or currently working in such posts.
Sue is currently working with the central DIP policy team to try to ensure that police involved in these schemes understand all the issues when vetting people in relevant occupations who drug test positively and engage, or otherwise, in treatment via the programme.
To ensure all the factors are considered, she needs to find examples of people who have been through the DIP caseload but who work, either as volunteers or employees, in any of the relevant occupations covered by vetting schemes.
Occupations covered by the scheme would include any work:
- with children or young people, such as teaching, youth work, fostering, adoption
- with vulnerable adults, such as in care homes and social services
in the medical care sector, such as hospitals, nursing and midwifery, dental services, optometry, chiropractors - with the armed services or the security industry, such as doormen or security staff in bingo halls, betting offices, nuclear services and so on
- as solicitors, judges, members of bar counsel
- as pilots
- as taxi drivers, school bus drivers or driving instructors
- as members of the emergency services
- as civil servants
Details can be provided without identifying individual clients, unless the individual is willing to be identified to assist in enhancing understanding and ensuring that adverse assumptions are not made about drug use and occupations.
If you have any examples, please e-mail a brief description by the end of March. Sue will then get back in touch to obtain further details on which to base appropriate guidance to the police service.
Call Sue on 07850 007171 or email sue.cockerill@northants.pnn.police.uk
Latest Key Messages
The latest Key Messages for DIP provide a ‘core script’ to describe the various elements of the programme and the key points that should be understood about them. This can be a useful resource when preparing reports, briefings and other publications about DIP and it is reviewed and updated every two months. The February/March edition is currently available and includes an update to the section on Restriction on Bail. The next review is due in early April.
