Policies and Protocols
Newcastle Temporary Accommodation Drug Management protocol (pdf 304KB) click here
The Drug Management Protocol published in 2007 has now been updated. You can view or download the documents from the links below.
The Drug Management Protocol is designed to help staff and managers in supported housing to work safely and within the law with people who use illegal drugs, and to support them into treatment. It describes what the law says about how to deal with the use and supply of drugs in shared accommodation, and helps staff to understand what they must do to comply with the law.
It also sets out when and how the Police should be involved, how the "bag and tag" system works, and what the role of the Police is. The Protocol also describes the way that drug treatment agencies are asked to work, and to support the work that their colleagues in supported housing are doing with drug users.
The main changes in the 2009 update are:
♦ New routes for contacting the Police
♦ A focus on warning people about the risk to others, and on getting drug users engaged in treatment
♦ Suggesting that information about suspected supply is relayed to the Police as soon as possible
♦ Reminding the Police to collect Incident and Substance Collections Forms, and "bag and tags"
♦ A revised Wallchart for staff, simpler explanations about what to do
Training on the revised Protocol was held in May 2009. Invited were all the supported housing organisations working with homeless groups, the drug treatment agencies, and the Police.
Contacting the Police about an incident
A) If you are contacting the Police about an emergency, ring either Emergency Response Teams on 03456 043 043 or 999 if there is any danger or risk to life, or a crime is in progress.
B) If you are contacting the Police about an incident which is not an emergency: ring 03456 043 043.
This ensures that the call is logged, and that it will be dealt with as soon as possible. Tell the Police that you are ringing to report an incident under the Newcastle Drug Management Protocol. You can ask for your Neighbourhood Beat Team to be notified about your call. Record the Incident Number you are given on the Incident and Substance Collection Form.
Give your name, the name and address of your organisation, and provide contact details. Say whether you are ringing to:
− report an incident
− ask the Police to come out to deal with an incident that is happening now
− seek advice from the Police, or
− ask for suspected illegal drugs to be collected
C) If you want to talk about the Protocol and how it is working, ring the Newcastle Criminal Jusitce Unit on 0191 221 8345 (between 7am and 5pm, Mon-Fri)
There are five documents as part of the Protocol (2009 versions):
The full DMP Protocol (304KB) click here
A Service User Guide to the Protocol (pdf 133KB) click here
A Leaflet for Service Users (pdf 948KB) click here
A Wallchart for staff in temporary accommodation (pdf 1,107KB) click here
A Poster to be put up in entrances or public areas of temporary accommodation places in Newcastle (pdf 1,420KB) click here
Any questions about the protocol should be addressed to the Homelessness Prevention Project on 0191 277 1731 or 0191 277 1733.
Please note that contact for the Criminal Justice Unit has changed. The email address is now newcastlecju@northumbria.pnn.police.uk and the telephone number is 0191 221 8345.
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