Criminal Justice Project: Drug Interventions ProgrammeSefton DIP Activity Profile (2017/18)

The Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) in England and Wales has an overarching aim to identify and engage with offenders in the criminal justice system who use drugs, and encourage them towards appropriate treatment services in order to reduce acquisitive crime. There is a body of evidence supporting the DIP process at reducing offending for this population group who engage in treatment for their drug use and offending (Collins et al., 2017a; Public Health England and Ministry of Justice, 2017; Cuddy et al., 2015). Under the current drug testing process in Merseyside (targeted testing), if offenders test positive for specified Class A drugs (opiates and/or cocaine) they are required to undergo a Required Assessment (RA) with a drugs worker. There are other referral routes into DIP including Conditional Cautioning, transfers from prison establishments on release, transfers from other Criminal Justice Integrated Teams (CJITs), requirement by the client’s Offender Manager, and court mandated processes (such as Restriction on Bail, Drug Rehabilitation Requirements and Alcohol Treatment Requirements), as well as voluntary presentations.