Drugs and Alcohol: Substance Misuse
How big is the problem?
It is estimated that a third of all property crime is related to
drugs and that users generate £1.5 billion from crime to buy their
drugs. It is not uncommon for a person with a drugs/alcohol problem to
spend £700 each and every week on their habit. By tackling substance
misuse we can reduce crime.
What's the Answer?
In 1998 the government produced a 10-year strategy to tackle drug
misuse called 'Tackling Drugs to Build a Better Britain'. That
strategy has 4 main elements:
- Young People - to help them resist substance misuse in order to reach their full potential in society.
- Communities - to protect the community from drug/alcohol related anti-social and criminal behaviour
- Treatment - to enable people with drug/alcohol problems to overcome them and to live healthy crime free lives
- Availability - to stifle the availability of drugs on our streets.
To carry that plan out Dyfed-Powys Police has four Substance Misuse
Action Teams (SMATs). These teams are made up of representatives from
police, health, probation, social services, education, council, HM
Customs and Excise and HM prison service. Dyfed-Powys Police Community
Safety Department links in with all four SMATs.
What is Dyfed-Powys Police doing in relation to drugs?
HQ Community Safety Department is involved in the working of all four of the county's SMATs.
It was this department that helped set up the Arrest Referral
Scheme which enables detainees at police stations to speak, in
confidence, to an independent, trained substance misuse worker who is
able to assist them with their problem and refer them on to treatment
where appropriate.
We work with young people both in the classroom, via the local
schools liaison officers, and with other agencies setting up local
initiatives and projects.
