Healthcare professionals and partners
Criminal justice
Community based treatment for offenders
Drug treatment for offenders in the community has improved enormously over the past decade, in both availability and quality. This has been achieved in the main through the introduction of the Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) and the Drug Rehabilitation Requirement (DRR).
Drug Rehabilitation Requirement (DRR)
These are part of a community sentence. They are a key way for offenders to address problem drug use and how it affects them and others. A DRR lasts between six months and three years, and gets offenders to:
Identify what they must do to stop offending and using drugs
Understand the link between drug use and offending, and how drugs affect health
Identify realistic ways of changing their lives for the better
Develop their awareness of the victims of crime.
Drug Interventions Programme (DIP)
DIP was introduced in 2003 as a key part of the strategy for tackling drugs and reducing crime via the criminal justice system. It brings together a range of agencies including the police, courts, prison and probation services, treatment providers, government departments and drug action teams (DATs) to provide tailored treatment for offenders with drug problems.
DIP Community based initiatives
Testing on arrest
Any adult arrested for a specific offence, such as robbery or burglary, in a DIP high-crime area can be tested for heroin and cocaine. It’s a way of identifying offenders with problem drug use at an early stage, regardless of whether they are charged. Data shows around a third test positive for Class A drugs.
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Required assessments
When an adult tests positive for heroin or cocaine, the police can require them to attend up to two assessments with a drug worker. Failing to attend and remain at the assessment is a criminal offence.
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Restrictions on bail
Offenders who test positive for drugs such as heroin, crack and cocaine may be denied bail unless they agree to have relevant treatment.
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Criminal Justice Integrated Teams (CJITs)
Based in the community, and working in police custody suites and courts, CJITs provide a gateway into treatment for offenders. They case-manage offenders, co-ordinating the response from different agencies, such as the police and prison service. Judges and magistrates take CJIT assessments of drug-misusing offenders into consideration when making bail and sentencing decisions.
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Drug Interventions Record (DIR)
During the initial assessment of clients who come into contact with the DIP programme, information about their needs is gathered using a form called the Drug Intervention Record (DIR). The Drug Intervention Record (DIR) was introduced in 2005, but was revised in 2009 in order to capture data in line with the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System.
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