In October 2007 the Government published new drugs and alcohol targets for 2008-11 and in February 2008 the Home Office published the next National Drug Strategy for the next 10 years.
There are twelve multi-agency partnerships in the North East responsible for local delivery of the current Drug Strategy. They each produce their own annual plan.
Their key areas of work across the region include:
- delivering drug misuse programmes to vulnerable young people at an early stage, for example, by providing appropriate drug treatment services
- providing drug information for all young people and families, for example, through Talk to Frank campaigns
- having an integrated approach to cutting drug-related crime, through the Drug Interventions Programme
- providing more, better and fairer drug treatment
- addressing issues around housing and employment and engaging effectively with communities, for example, through public meetings, questionnaires and training – this is linked closely with the Prolific and Other Priority Offender and Reducing Reoffending strategies
- reducing drug supply within local communities, for example, through disrupting drug markets and closing crack houses.
Young people
In 2005, the government published Every Child Matters: Change for Children, Young People and Drugs to strengthen links between National Drug Strategy and other policies. The document introduced High Focus Areas and highlighted problems faced by vulnerable young people, including the children of drug misusing parents as also described in the Government's Hidden Harm report and Positive Futures programme.
Drug Interventions Programme (DIP)
People who misuse heroin or crack/cocaine often commit crime to fund their drug habit. The DIP aims to get these people out of crime and into drug treatment, breaking the cycle of drugs-crime-prison. It does this by providing a range of interventiuons to engage and keep drug users in treatment at all stages of the criminal justice process.
Our role is to work with the organisations responsible for running the programme across the North East. In areas where acquisitive crime is highest an intensive programme including drug testing on arrest, is being delivered. In the North East, these areas are Gateshead, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Newcastle, Stockton and Sunderland. More information on drug treatment in the region.
