Partnership working to reduce drug related crime and deaths in Norfolk

The key to success has been partnership working, with a number of individuals being helped through the coordinated approach. Recognising that drug abuse does not have one simple solution, cross-cutting work has taken place across multiple organisations to tackle treatment, housing, and employment issues.

It highlights the results that can be achieved when partners work effectively and collaboratively towards a common goal.

The challenge 

The Government’s independent review of drugs, led by Professor Dame Carol Black published its part two findings on 8 July 2021. It largely observed that the capacity and quality of treatment for drug abuse had declined, and that there were increases in drug misuse prevalence while treatment numbers were falling.

The proportion of individuals completing treatment had also decreased, which in turn all led to increased drug-related deaths. The report cited a decline in funding for drug treatment, and made several recommendations to improve outcomes in this area.

The solution

One of the recommendations listed by the report was to promote effective local partnership. In early 2021, Norwich was chosen as one of several pilot areas to receive £4.8 million in funding, called Project Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement, and Recovery (ADDER).

The project brings together local councils, police, treatment providers and health services to address drug misuse and provide a coordinated approach to enforcement and treatment. For this project to be successful, good local leadership and effective partnership working are required. The council has maintained an active role in the ADDER project through commissioning services alongside the police.

Norfolk County Council’s commissioned Change Grow Live (CGL) teams have been working closely with the police force, training Norwich police officers in the deployment of nasal naloxone which can temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Officers can volunteer to carry naloxone spray following the completion of their training, which has seen an extremely high uptake rate.

CGL recovery workers operate in Police Investigation Centres (PIC) to reduce harm from illegal drugs, providing needle exchange and access to treatment when an individual is detained.

In addition, the council funds one of two Norfolk youth offending officers who work with vulnerable young people in the PIC, the other post is funded by the constabulary.

The impact

Following the CGL team’s training, Norfolk constabulary are considering rolling out naloxone spray training across the entire county. The project has reached over 540 people in the county through active outreach and referrals, through working with a broad range of partners. Of these 540, 170 have received treatment from structured substance misuse services. In addition, there have been 120 support sessions delivered to children in the police investigation centre with a 96% engagement rate.

There is a target to treat 250 individuals before the project concludes. In addition, Norfolk constabulary have reduced the county lines operations in Greater Norwich from around 100, to fewer than 10, indicating that an aligned approach is having success in tackling the problem of drug misuse.

Lessons learned

Multi-agency working can be successful in combatting complex issues, such as drug misuse. The Norfolk ADDER project can be viewed as an example of best practice should this pilot scheme be rolled out elsewhere in the United Kingdom.

Contact:

Paul Solomon Sept: Implementation Manager, 01603 708212, [email protected]