Nina Griffiths – www . ninagriffiths . com |
surrounding diversion – ‘ media reports that this is rubbish , that we ’ re letting people off ’. ‘ The scheme may not be perfect but what is right are the interventions and support ,’ he said . A report due to be published by next March would help to shape diversion . Collaboration and innovation were key to making sure initiatives were not just police led , and this required ‘ a whole system , evidence-informed approach ’.
In a later session , Dr Matthew Bacon of Sheffield University , who had been evaluating the effectiveness and costeffectiveness of police-led drug diversion ( PDD ) schemes for druginvolved suspects , highlighted that there needed to be a whole system , evidence-based approach beyond merely counting the number of officers . One of the main challenges was convincing the public of the benefits of a scheme that was too often described as being ‘ soft on crime ’.
A NEW WAY ? The premise of deflection was looking at what happened when you don ’ t do it , said Jac Charlier , of TASC ’ s Center for Health and
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Justice in the US . With likelihood of overdose , death , a crisis , an arrest , deflection gave an opportunity of ‘ flipping the script ’.
Deflection was increasingly used in the USA in situations where arrest was possible but not mandatory – 60-80 per cent of police interactions in the USA resulted in no action . Having a positive intervention at this stage created an ‘ upstream approach ’, said Charlier , and focusing on prevention instead of crisis management was better , faster and cheaper , benefiting everyone concerned . The approach was community led , providing a gateway to services .
Charlier stressed that the approach was made up of ‘ one tenth police , nine tenths you ’, but the link between drugs and criminal behaviour meant that the police were often the first contact . ‘ This is a data-based reality – police will be involved , neighbours will call the cops ,’ he said . ‘ History is that they arrest you , but this offers a new way . We are not saying that we should make police public health workers .’
Comments from the conference audience reflected some strong concern about the police role . ‘ The UK has a problem in that stop and search for drugs went up to the highest rate since 2012 ,’ said Niamh Eastwood of Release . ‘ So there ’ s a problem with suggesting police move further into the community . Extending the role of police beyond diversion is
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deeply concerning .’ ‘ The police aren ’ t culturally humble – they don ’ t understand the issues ,’ said Aaron Anthony , a youth justice worker in London . ‘ When kids fight in school the police are involved . We don ’ t feel like police want us to be safe , and we need to address this first .’
CHANGING ATTITUDES This culture was examined in a later session by Josh Torrance , research associate at the University of Bristol . While improved efficiency was one of the key drivers for diversion , there had also been a change in attitude among police that reflected wider society , he said . His research showed that newer , younger police officers had a different outlook – a move away from paternalism to a more progressive approach . This suggested a change in perceived role , from crime fighting to protecting vulnerable individuals .
He had encountered several officers who had personal experience of a family member with drug issues , or who had witnessed overdoses and problems faced by people using drugs . Talking about the overdose of a local man , one officer said he regretted just giving him a caution and wished he could have done something to help . Another said he had not confiscated drugs from someone he saw injecting as ‘ he will just go and commit another crime to buy more .’
The schemes were not a ‘ silver bullet ’ and the opportunity for interaction and building relationships should not be overplayed , said Torrance . Most individuals just wanted to accept the OoCR and go . Dealing with the police was
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‘ Focusing on prevention instead of crisis management is better , faster and cheaper , benefiting everyone concerned .’
JAC CHARLIER
still a stressful situation whether you were being arrested or not , and people did not want to hang around for a chat .
But he believed that a key factor in the scheme ’ s success was to ‘ make the process simpler and easier than what was done previously ’. To this end , Cranstoun had been partnering with the technology social enterprise Make Time Count to help officers make a referral in minutes , rather than the hours taken up by processing a traditional arrest . Working with five police forces , they had codesigned a platform that made it quick and easy for an officer to refer someone to a service on the spot , and also supported the individual by providing updates and reminders for appointments and key dates .
‘ We need to do away with sending letters and use the technology that people have in their pocket ,’ said CEO and founder Jonathan Ley . ‘ If the dentist and pizza delivery service can send you text reminders there ’ s no reason that the criminal justice system can ’ t do this too .’ DDN
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