Drug Treatment and the Police
Drug Treatment and the Police
Bristol police are involved in delivering the 4 strands of the government’s drug strategy, Treatment and Harm, Communities, Young People and Reducing Drug Supply. The Police lead on the Reducing Drug Supply Group, which is responsible for the development and delivery of their district drug policy and coordinating multi agency initiatives to tackle drug hotspots.
The group aims to improve Police staff awareness, of the available drug treatment options; particularly via the Criminal Justice Intervention Team (CJIT) and the Districts involvement with initiatives to minimise harm and encourage persons with drug problems to consider treatment options.
In acknowledging that drug misuse can impact on the type and / or rate of a person offending, it is in the interest of the Police to address it and the broad view of the Reducing Drug Supply Group in relation to drug treatment is as follows:
1. Drug treatment does work.
2. Treatment places are available in Bristol.
3. Treatment is multi faceted not just residential rehabilitation.
4. There are no benefits in purposely entering the criminal justice system to obtain treatment.
5. The Police are totally supportive of drug service provision in Bristol and will consider the treatment option for all persons that they encounter with drug issues.
None of the above affects the primary objective of the police to prevent crime and bring offenders to justice once a crime has been committed. So if you commit crime as a drug user you will be arrested.
Subsequent actions concerning offenders are the joint responsibility of criminal justice agencies, including the police, whose priorities are to coordinate an appropriate sentence aimed at rehabilitation and the prevention of further offending.
In recognising the above, via the Drug Intervention Programme (DIP), the Government has introduced legislation which offers drug treatment to offenders at various stages throughout the criminal justice system. Compulsory drug tests on arrest for certain offences help to identify them. Therefore, if drug use contributes to the reason for offending it will be identified and considered throughout the criminal justice system.
Similarly DIP has created a Criminal Justice Intervention Team (CJIT) to coordinate treatment programmes imposed under the legislation. Many of them are deployed in custody suites. This means that all drug using offenders automatically have the treatment option available to them.
It is therefore imperative that in order to achieve The Supply Groups objectives, all police staff are aware of the impact that drugs can have on offending, the effects drugs induce in offenders and the available routes for offenders to the various treatment options.
There are increasing incidents where patrolling staff encounter drug users and offer on the street advice.
However the greatest contribution by the police is in custody suites which are equipped with CJIT personnel, trained to carry out drug testing and to make preliminary assessments and recommendations regarding drug treatment.
In conjunction with the Bristol Drug Project, Police custody suites carry appropriate injecting packs for distribution on release to injecting offenders in an attempt to reduce the increased harm associated with this practice.
The District has an Integrated Offender Management Unit (IOMU) that convenes fortnightly to support CJIT / ASPOS / and the probation service in the supervision of offenders subject of treatment programmes. One tactical option, regularly used, is a pro active joint visit by police and CJIT to offer treatment to suspected drug related offenders in an attempt to reduce crime, improve re-offending rates and reduce harm. If declined, robust enforcement takes place.
All planned drug enforcement activity is now in accordance with the “complete problem solving drug hotspot management processes” and will involve appropriate personnel or the distribution of relevant literature giving advice on the routes into drug treatment.
Whenever possible these operations will be supported by treatment workers, from CJIT and IOMU offering an outreach service to users.
In acknowledging the reluctance of some witnesses to remain at the scene of drug overdoses for fear of encountering the police, in conjunction with the ambulance service, Bristol District have drawn up a policy whereby police will only attend suspected drug overdoses in the following circumstances.
· There is a death, serious injury, or circumstances where the ambulance crew believe death may follow due to drugs activity.
· There is evidence of harm arising to children or other vulnerable persons (i.e. a person who is in the care of the subject and who may need further support)
· The ambulance crew is at risk as a result of a potential violent situation, or if they
Similarly drug related deaths are investigated thoroughly but sympathetically with a view to identifying and learning from any actions or omissions by the deceased, witnesses, statutory or voluntary agencies that could have prevented the death.
Ethnicity & The Mental Health Act: A Service User's Perspective.
Service User Report
Mushwera are currently looking at the issues surrounding members of the BME community who have a dual diagnosis, (substance use issue and mental health diagnosis). As a result of this a peer and myself attended a conference titled: Ethnicity & The Mental Health Act. The conference was a daylong affair hosted by the Ethnic Health Initiative (EHI), in London on 24th May 2010. EHI were formed in 2005 by a group of frontline professionals, working in the field of health & social care. They’re particularly interested in the area of black and minority ethnic communities and health inequalities.
EHI has a number of aims, two of which are raising the profile of cross cultural health matters and to influence national and local policy and good practice guidance development.
The day was spent listening to and questioning various professionals who were deemed ‘experts’ primarily in the fields of psychiatry and the Mental Health Act. The conference concentrated on BME’s diagnosed with schizophrenia, as this diagnosis appears to be particularly prevalent among those from BME communities. The first part of the day was spent listening to two speakers who provided different perspectives as to why this was happening. The first speaker suggested that institutionalised racism is rife within mental health services and that it is this that influences the diagnosis. The second speaker concluded that the cause is primarily, social disadvantage and ‘second generation migration stress’. In my opinion both speakers made valid points.
The afternoon session centred on discussions involving the impact of mental health legislation and how BME communities respond to mental health services, i.e. fear of engaging.
Whilst the day was well organised and informative, it didn’t provide any clear ideas or suggestions in moving forward, or ways in which to encourage and support BME communities to engage with mental health services. The issue of people from BME communities with a dual diagnosis was not discussed/debated.
I have written information from the conference including speaker profiles, topics and contents of their speeches. Should anybody require further information contact Paul Moores on Tel:0117 914 2208 or 07825 315625.
Joe J
Update: What's Happening With UFO?
Over the last couple of months UFO have been reviewing what they do and how they do it. A working group made up of UFO members and DST staff was convened. In light of certain financial and operational factors it was decided that some restructuring of UFO would be beneficial. The first of these changes involves making the main meetings a bi-monthly affair. They will be still be held at the Unitarian Chapel but will now run from 11:00 until 13:00. The first hour will be themed, involving service users, service providers, guest speakers, work shops, Q&A sessions and any other approriate content we can think of (suggestions welcome). The second hour will consist of time for any other business, peer support, networking and lunch.
A ‘working group’ has been set up consisting of the steering group members and 17 people from the main group. A fair and open selection and voting process was followed to ensure anyone interested in joining was considered. The group will split into small teams of 4 or 5 and work on specific tasks, such as: UFO website, newsletter, radio show, reviews of services, presentations and anything else we deem important, appropriate and of interest to service users. This group will be held bi-monthly on the first Tuesday of each month.
Paul Moores
Service User Coordinator
Treatment Outcomes Profile (TOP) Workshop
Held by the NTA (National Treatment Agency) in Bristol, on Tuesday 20th April and attended by steering group member Matt Rees, this workshop was intended for service providers all over Bristol in order to give them a better understanding of what TOP is and what the NTA are trying to achieve with TOP.
TOP, or Treatment Outcome Profile, is a way of collecting data on service users in structured services (Tiers 3 & 4), throughout their treatment journey. Structured services, in this case, is anything from structured day courses to residential rehab. Other, non-structured, services are not covered by TOP.
TOP data is first collected on a paper form and later put into computer eventually destined for the NTA, who will process the data.
TOP forms are filled out when a client first starts to use a structured service, followed by review TOP forms at regular points along the treatment journey, then finally a TOP exit form should be completed when the client exits treatment.
The purpose of all this data is to find out how effective treatment is, in various ways. TOP forms collect data on the clients’ mental and physical health, drug intake and crime statistics, among other things. One of the main purposes of TOP is to find out how & when clients are leaving treatment, and in some cases to find out where the clients have gone after treatment. This is in order to find out if the treatment can be deemed a success or otherwise. TOP can also be accessed by workers, to track the progress of their own clients, it is not just for the NTA.
Many workers have been sceptical of the TOP system, but the NTA has a duty to find out where treatment is successful and where it needs improvement, and for the moment the TOP system seems to be the best available resource to do this. Also the government pays for this treatment and wants to know where their money is best spent.
The TOP system is not currently for clients who’s primary drug of choice is alcohol, although workers can still use this system for such clients, in order to analyze data for their own purposes. However, forms from these clients will not be included in the NTA final data.
Bristol Prison - Horfield
UFO are hoping to publish a report concerning the Intergrated Drug Treatment System at HMP Bristol. The research for this was carried out in the latter part of 2009. This report has been delayed due to changes in personel within Bristol City Council’s drug strategy team.
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