Government Offices are working with regional partners to deliver the Government’s National Drug Strategy, via both Drugs Action Teams and the Drugs Intervention Programme.
More information on the national picture
We also identify and promote best practice in all areas of drugs prevention and advise local partnerships on how to work more effectively. This year we have particularly promoted FRANK, which provides a 24 hour confidential helpline and website for young people, their parents and carers to help them talk more openly about drugs, and get up-to-date, honest and factual information about drugs.
There are 10 multi-agency Drug Action Teams (DATs) in the East of England that operate as partnerships within unitary and county (tier 2) boundaries. These partnerships are being encouraged to integrate with their Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships counterparts, responsible for delivering the Government’s Crime Reduction Strategy.
Local partnerships will produce new three year strategies from April 2005 which will contain key performance targets in each of the regional key areas of work, which are reviewed on a quarterly basis by the Government Office for the East working in partnership with the National Treatment Agency and others.
Regional key areas of work for 2005/06 are:
- Early identification and substance misuse interventions with vulnerable young people and drug information for all young people and families.
- Effective establishment and operation of Drug Intervention Programme across the whole region.
- More, better and fairer drug treatment.
- An integrated approach to cutting drug-related crime.
Drug Interventions Programme
People who misuse heroin or crack/cocaine often commit crime to fund their drug habit. The Drug Interventions Programme (DIP), formerly the Criminal Justice Interventions Programme, aims to get these offenders out of crime and into drug treatment, breaking the cycle of drugs–crime–prison. DIP began in April 2003 and operates an intensive programme including drug testing on arrest in areas where acquisitive crime is highest.
In the East of England, Peterborough operates an intensive DIP and Luton will become intensive from April 2005. All areas, intensive and non-intensive, provide a range of interventions to engage drug users in treatment at all stages of the criminal justice process from arrest to court and from community to prison and back.
