Communications and campaigns

National Tackling Drugs Week - 8-12 June 2009

This year's National Tackling Drugs Week has been deemed a huge success. This year local agencies and police forces from every region across England and Wales ran activities to show case the work you do to tackle drugs and reduce drug-related crime and to highlight the significant efforts that are being made to keep our communities safe.

Here is just a flavour of what happened locally during National Tackling Drugs Week.

• Nottinghamshire Drug Action Team recruited sixth form students to participate in sessions linked to the drugs strategy i.e observe a drug dog search at Nottingham Forest Football Club and report on what they saw and interview staff members; try out complementary therapies; spend a day with outreach drugs worker who work with under 18's; design a youth byte banner on drugs that'll go out on schools, colleges, and university web-sites; and met the Chief Constable with their parents and Schools to receive prizes.  The Police are sending out 'competition' entry details to potentially 3,500 sixth form students.
• Essex ran a 5 aside football match at Colechester United with service users, service providers, local school children and businesses.  A photo exhibition with work from service users of drugs support group ' Open Road' opened at Essex County Hall by the Lottery chief executive.
• Stockport Police 'Pod' in town centre provided information for the publice as well as a Drugs Burn and Scrap the lamps used to grow cannabis with all proceeds going to Victom Support.
• Wigan re-launched their Rat on a Rat campaign.
• East Sussex organised for a local Women's Institute (WI) to visit a drug treatment centre in Hastings and also to Lewes Prison. A grand reception at the new Towner Art Gallery in Eastbourne (part of the TATE group) also took place with photographs taken by current service users will be exhibited which represent a day in the life of'.  Service users had free photography lesson and were given disposable cameras to take a 24 hr record of their lives.
• Suffolk Constabulary arranged to provide all police officers with custody packs for detainees.  To provide signposting to services for those detained within the three main custody suites (Ipswich, Lowestoft, Bury) with a view to offering help and advice leading to a reduction in drug user and re-offending and delivering the key messages of National Tackling Drugs Week.