Drug Interventions Programme

Drug Interventions Programme

The Drug Interventions Programme is a key part of the United Kingdom's strategy for tackling drug abuse[1]. It aims to engage drug-misusing offenders involved in the Criminal Justice system in formal addiction treatment and other support, thereby reducing drug related harm and reducing offending behaviour [2]. Introduced in 2003, it formed a part of both of New Labour's '10 year' drug strategies[3]. In their 2010 Drug Strategy, the Conservative / Liberal Democrat coalition state their continued intention to support DIP[4].

Contents

Overview

The Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) is the UK's main Criminal Justice initiative aimed at engaging substance misusing offenders in drug treatment. It does this through a variety of methods, some coercive, such as the Tough Choices program, and some relying on voluntary engagement. Class A drug-misusing offenders are identified on their journey through the CJS and steered towards treatment and wraparound support. Key points of intervention include following a positive drugs test in police custody, and following release from prison.

DIP's key partners include police, the probation service, prisons, courts and other criminal justice agencies, as well as the National Treatment Agency and the Department of Health[5]. It is hard to discern the precise cost of DIP. Whilst DIP Key Messages (of February 2009) identified that 'over £600 million has been invested in DIP,' [6], DIP's Operational Handbook (also 2009) put the figure at 'over £900m'[7].

Some evidence has been taken to suggest that DIP has been effective in achieving its aims, though a serious shortfall in methodologically rigorous evaluations makes such claims problematic. Nonetheless, in his foreword to the 2008 Drug Strategy the Home Secretary claimed that DIP coercion and case management have 'contributed to a fall in recorded acquisitive crime of around 20 per cent'[8]. A short while later, DIP Key Messages made rather grander claims: 'since 2003, acquisitive crime (which is strongly associated with class A substance misuse) has fallen by 32 per cent in England and Wales.[citation needed] In areas with more intensive DIP activity, early evaluation showed crime falling faster in those areas than areas with less intensive DIPs[9].

Tough Choices

In December 2005, aspects of the Drugs Act 2005 were piloted at various DIPs around the country. Under the heading "Tough Choices", this included a "Test on Arrest" procedure, a "Required Assessment" process and an extension of the "Restrictions on Bail" scheme, which was legislated for under Section 19 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. Since April 2006, Tough Choices has been phased in across England and Wales.

Test on Arrest

Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984(PACE), it had been possible for police to drug test Detained Prisoners since 1984. The Drugs Act 2005 introduced, at selected "intensive DIP area" police stations, a mandatory drug test for every individual who had been arrested for a specified list of "trigger offences." Trigger offences were first set out in the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000, and constitute a list of offences known have a clear link to substance misuse (such as Theft). Arrestees may also be tested for 'non-trigger' offences (including, for example, those related to prostitution) with the authority of a police inspector. Individuals who refused to take this test, a "non-intimate saliva sample", could face up to three months in custody and a £2,500 fine. Individuals who tested positive were then compelled to undergo a two-part "Required Assessment" with a drug worker from their local DIP.

Required Assessment

Individuals who tested positive under the "Test on Arrest" scheme were required to see a drug worker for a single appointment. Although the Drugs Act 2005 had introduced a contingency for a "Follow-up Required Assessment" process, this measure was not implemented until March 2007. Individuals who failed to attend either of these appointments could face up to three months in prison or a £2,500 fine.

Restrictions on Bail

Restrictions on Bail had been introduced under the Criminal Justice Act 2003. This piece of legislation amended the Bail Act 1976 by reversing the presumption of bail to anyone who had tested positive to a class A drug, unless they agreed to undergo assessment and treatment with their local DIP for the duration of their court bail. This effectively obliged courts to implement a bail condition compelling such persons to attend their local DIP. The stated aim of this was to "prevent offending on bail". Failure to abide by this condition could result in the denial of further court bail. Restrictions on Bail was initially piloted in a number of areas but now operates across England and Wales

Non-Intensive DIPs

All "Drug and Alcohol Action Team" (DAAT) areas in the UK had created a DIP prior to the introduction of Tough Choices. Some of these DIPs, where drug-related crime was perceived to be lower, were labelled "Non-Intensive". Non-Intensive areas were different in one way - local police stations could not legally drug test. However, a Required Assessment and a Restrictions on Bail condition could still be given to people from these areas.

Prolific and Other Priority Offenders Scheme and DIP

In 2004, the Prolific and Other Priority Offenders (PPO) Scheme was set up. A crime reduction initiative, it aims to identify a hard-core of individuals considered responsible for large amounts of crime, and manage them through either rehabilitation or conviction. There are currently 10,000 offenders in the UK who are involved in the PPO scheme, a significant proportion of whom have drug dependency issues. The Home Office encourages DIPs and PPO schemes to work closely together in such cases to ensure effective case management of offenders[10].

Controversy

Release, a UK charity which advises professionals and the public on criminal justice and drugs matters, strongly opposed the Test-on-Arrest and Required Assessment measures brought in by the Drugs Act 2005. They stated that mandatory drug testing was possibly in contravention with Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998, and that the possibility of false positives could lead to mandatory assessments for non-drug using Detained Prisoners. They also queried the Required Assessment process, calling into question the ethics and efficacy of coerced addiction treatment, and highlighting the possible re-direction of resources away from the voluntary treatment sector[11].

See also

References

  1. ^ "Drug Interentions Programme Strategy". Home Office. http://www.drugs.gov.uk/drug-interventions-programme/strategy/?view=Standard. 
  2. ^ "NTA Models of Care 2006" (pdf Page 8, section 2.5.1). NTA. http://www.nta.nhs.uk/publications/documents/nta_modelsofcare_update_2006_moc3.pdf. 
  3. ^ "Westminster Council DAAT". Westminster Council. http://www.westminster.gov.uk/healthandsocialcare/adultservices/drugsandalcohol/. 
  4. ^ http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/alcohol-drugs/drugs/drug-strategy/drug-strategy-2010?view=Binary
  5. ^ "Drug Interventions Program "Roles of Partners"". Home Office. http://www.drugs.gov.uk/drug-interventions-programme/strategy/partner-roles/. 
  6. ^ "Drug Interentions Program Strategy". Home Office. http://www.drugs.gov.uk/drug-interventions-programme/strategy/?view=Standard. 
  7. ^ Home Office (2009). "Drug Interventions Programme Operational Handbook" (pdf). Home Office. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/crime/reducing-reoffending/DIP-Operational-Handbook?view=Binary. Retrieved 30th July 2011. 
  8. ^ Home Office (2008). "Drugs: Protecting Families and Communities. The 2008 Drug Strategy. First Edition." (pdf). Home Office. http://www.erpho.org.uk/Download/Public/8340/1/national-drug-strategy-2008.pdf. Retrieved 30th July 2011. 
  9. ^ "Drug Interventions Program "Key Messages"". Home Office. http://www.drugs.gov.uk/drug-interventions-programme/strategy/communications/key-messages/overarching_KM. 
  10. ^ "Key Messages for the Prolific & other Priority Offender Programme – May 2007" (Word Document). Home Office. http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/ppo/Key_Messages_PPO_MAY_07.doc. 
  11. ^ "Response to Drugs Bill 2005" (pdf). Release. http://www.release.org.uk/news/drugs_bill%20final.pdf. 

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Drug action team — Drug Action Teams ( DAT ) are multi agency partnerships created by the 1995 United Kingdom national drug strategy and responsible for delivering the drug strategy at a local level. In England, some DATs also have a remit for alcohol and are… …   Wikipedia

  • Drug addiction — is widely considered a pathological state. The disorder of addiction involves the progression of acute drug use to the development of drug seeking behavior, the vulnerability to relapse, and the decreased, slowed ability to respond to naturally… …   Wikipedia

  • Mass drug administration — Distribution of antimalarials in Italy in the 1930s The administration of drugs to whole populations irrespective of disease status is referred to as mass drug administration (MDA). This article describes the administration of antimalarial drugs… …   Wikipedia

  • Dore Programme — The Dore programme or Dore program is a drug free course of treatment for dyslexia, ADHD, dyspraxia, Asperger s, and other learning difficulties which has been developed with researchers and doctors in Britain and elsewhere. It consists of a… …   Wikipedia

  • Cannabis (drug) — Marijuana redirects here. For other uses, see Marijuana (disambiguation). For the plant genus, see Cannabis. Cannabis …   Wikipedia

  • Intervention (counseling) — This article is about orchestrated group interventions. For the approach used in cognitive therapy, see cognitive interventions. An intervention is an orchestrated attempt by one, or often many, people (usually family and friends) to get someone… …   Wikipedia

  • Trainspotting (film) — Infobox Film name = Trainspotting image size = caption = director = Danny Boyle producer = Andrew Macdonald writer = Novel: Irvine Welsh Screenplay: John Hodge narrator = starring = Ewan McGregor Jonny Lee Miller Robert Carlyle Ewen Bremner Kevin …   Wikipedia

  • DIP — may refer to: Contents 1 As a three letter acronym 1.1 In science and technology 1.1.1 In computer scie …   Wikipedia

  • Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs — Infobox Treaty name = Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs long name = image width = 200px caption = Governments of opium producing Parties are required to purchase and take physical possession of such crops as soon as possible after harvest to… …   Wikipedia

  • HIV/AIDS in the People's Republic of China — The HIV/AIDS pandemic scene in East Asia is largely dominated by China. Much of the current spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in China has been through intravenous drug use and prostitution. In China, the number of affected by HIV… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”