Northampton’s project to reduce drug misuse – and associated retail crime – has funds for a second year.
The multi-agency Assertive Outreach project was launched in April 2004, with Home Office funding, and involves a drugs outreach worker and a specialist treatment nurse working with Northampton Retail Crime Initiative (NRCI). The aim: to address the ‘revolving door’ cycle of offenders misusing drugs, doing retail crime, going to prison and coming out to do the same.
In the past year, 119 individuals, identified by the project, have met with the drug outreach worker, 32 have engaged in treatment and 11 have been committed to long-term treatment. Those engaged by the project have been offered access to treatment, housing advice, benefit advice, primary care and counselling.
Since the project launch, reports of shop theft in Northampton have fallen by an average of 1.1 offences per week: prior to the project, reports of shop theft were increasing by 0.47 offences a week in the town. Organisers add that Northampton now has below the average rate of shop thefts compared to its other ‘Most Similar Force’ areas and also has one of the highest detection rates for shop theft at 70 per cent.
Representatives from the Assertive Outreach project were invited to the Home Office in June to present the end of year results to: Tyson Hepple, Head of the Crime Strategy and Resources Unit; Bernadette Bruton, Criminal Justice Intervention Team Implementation, PPO (Prolific and other Priority Offender) and Cautioning, Drugs Intervention Programme; and Damien Bourke, Business Crime Team.
Camelia Marsh, Service Manager of Northamptonshire’s Drug, Alcohol and Homelessness charity CAN, said: "It was a privilege to be invited to the Home Office to present our part in the retail crime initiative. The development of the CAN drug outreach worker has highlighted the importance and effectiveness of providing individuals with intensive support within the outreach setting."
Sergeant Paul Valentine, Business Crime Manager for Northamptonshire Police, said: "A large proportion of retail crime was being committed by a relatively small number of drug addicts who would commit shop theft to feed their addiction. These people often had chaotic lifestyles and were in and out of prison repeatedly. This project shows what can be achieved by a joined up approach of agencies to deal with persistent offenders. I am sure that shopkeepers will welcome the reduction in crime in the town, but for me the real success is the positive lifestyle change of the people who have been helped by the project that otherwise would have remained in the revolving door cycle and trap of retail crime and drug addiction.”
The Home Office funding for the pilot project ended in June, but Northampton Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) agreed to fund the drug outreach post for a further year and the Northamptonshire Drug and Alcohol Service (NDAS) is funding the nurse post.
The partners involved in the Assertive Outreach project include: the Northamptonshire Drug and Alcohol Service (NDAS), the Northamptonshire Drug, Alcohol and Homelessness charity CAN, the Northamptonshire Drug and Alcohol team (DAAT), Northampton Retail Crime Initiative (NRCI) and Northamptonshire Police. The agencies report that they used new protocols to respect the confidentiality of people helped by the project, which enabled clients to feel comfortable in giving their consent.
