Drugs & Alcohol
Guidance on Statutory Crime & Disorder Partnerships
The Crime & Disorder Act 1998 places obligations on local authorities, the police, police authorities, health authorities and probation committees (amongst others) to co-operate in the development and implementation of a strategy for tackling crime and disorder in their area. These organisations have to consider changed working practices, internal priorities and their relationships both with other agencies and with the wider community.
Chapter 2 of “Guidance on Statutory Crime and Disorder Partnerships” (Home Office 1998) includes the following advice on drugs and drug related crime:
Drugs and drug related crime
2.22 In view of the significant impact of drugs and drug related crime, it is important that such issues are addressed by the partnership and in many areas it is inevitable that drug related crime will be highlighted in the crime and disorder audit. This makes close co-ordination with the local Drug Action Teams absolutely vital. Drug Action Teams (DATs) are non-statutory organisations with responsibility for implementing the Government’s drugs strategy at local level within local authority, county council or health authority boundaries. Membership consists of senior representatives of the key statutory organisations involved in tackling drug misuse eg chief constables, chief executives of local authorities and health authorities, chief probation officers, prison governors, and Customs and Excise collectors. DATs may also choose to include alcohol and solvent abuse in their remit.
2.23 The work of the DAT is informed by the Drugs Reference Group(s) (DRG(s)) which comprise professionals and other relevant people in the field of drug misuse. The number of DRGs and their structure varies – some are geographically based, others are task specific eg community safety. A great many DRGs are based on district council boundaries which are likely to be the most appropriate forum for liaison with crime reduction partnerships.
2.24 DATs are required to implement locally the Government’s new drugs strategy, launched in 1998 as a White Paper ‘Tackling Drugs to build a Better Britain’. It is a 10-year strategy. The strategy is firmly evidence-based and outlines a range of actions, targeted on the areas where the biggest impact can be made. Drug Action Teams are required to set local performance indicators to be achieved through multi-agency working. The strategy recognises the importance of tackling drug misuse within the wider sphere of regeneration and linking with other Government initiatives such as the New Deal, youth offending teams and social exclusion as well as crime reduction partnerships.
2.25 The strategy has four key aims, which link directly or indirectly to crime and disorder:
to protect communities from anti-social and criminal behaviour related to drug misuse;
to stifle the availability of illegal drugs on our streets;
to help our young people to resist drug misuse in order to achieve their full potential; and
to provide services that enable people to overcome their drug problems and live healthy and crime-free lives.
2.26 Although DATs have a separate identity and remit from other agencies relating to crime and disorder, there is considerable overlap, particularly due to the following factors:
the target population – the key age group for both offending and drug misuse is 16–25;
property crime–a high proportion of this is committed by people with serious drug problems and addressing their drug misuse can significantly reduce it;
the organisational structures – eg key DAT and DRG members will also sit on the community safety groups/crime prevention partnerships;
the social context of drug misuse and offending behaviour is broadly similar eg unemployment, low attainment at school, truancy etc.
2.27 It follows, therefore that agencies involved with action to tackle drugs and crime need to ensure that effective working links exist with each other and that local strategy development and implementation is co-ordinated. More specifically, DATs and crime reduction partnerships should ensure that action plans and priorities are clearly aligned. They may also benefit in linking with each other specifically in the following areas:
mapping and auditing of service provision, criminal justice interventions and hot-spots etc;
collection and sharing of information;
setting of performance indicators and targets; and
co-ordination of planning cycles.
This is not an exhaustive list and it will be for DATs and crime reduction partnerships to determine how best to ensure that they maximise the benefits to be gained from their separate complementary roles.
Getting a copy
“Guidance on Statutory Crime and Disorder Partnerships” is available here.
Last update: Thursday, October 12, 2006