Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 30
30
Accepted
Paragraph: 131
Government's response to drug-related retail crime lacks urgency and timely national programme rollout.
Conclusion
The Government has acknowledged that drugs play a significant role in a large number of crimes and with prolific offending in particular. Yet, one year on from the Government’s response to the call for evidence on violence and abuse toward shop staff, work to develop the evidence base regarding the role of drugs and alcohol in retail crime is only just beginning. We welcome the work the Government is undertaking to address drug addiction via the five ADDER programmes. However, the Minister has admitted that it will be years before these programmes could be rolled-out at a national level. This intervention lacks urgency and fails to address the gravity of the escalating violence and abuse faced by Britain’s retail workers on a daily basis. Retail workers need action now to break the escalating cycle of abuse.
Government Response Summary
The government details its commitment to tackling drug-driven crime, referencing Dame Carol Black's review and ongoing work including £80m investment in drug treatment and the expansion of Project ADDER to eight additional sites.
Paragraph Reference:
131
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Government is absolutely committed to tackling drugs as a driver of crime, including the theft and violence driven by drug misuse. Dame Carol Black’s review of drugs highlights that approximately half of all acquisitive crimes (excluding fraud) are linked to drug misuse and that this is primarily driven by people dependent on opiate and crack cocaine who commit crime to fund their habit. Part two of Dame Carol’s review, which was published on 8 July 2021, provides concrete recommendations on improving the treatment and recovery system and covers a range of important issues, including local commissioning practices, accountability and transparency, funding for treatment services, as well as the role of wider health, employment and housing services in helping people achieve and sustain recovery. Our initial response to parts one and two of the review, published on 27 July, is clear that we must take a genuinely whole-system approach in order to tackle both the supply of drugs and demand for them together. This includes a focus on developing a high-quality treatment and recovery system which offers people with a drug dependency a route to a healthy, productive life and which prevents further drug-driven offending. As our response notes, a range of work is already underway to address these challenges, including £80m of investment in drug treatment and recovery for 2021–22 focusing on support for those in the criminal justice system, additional funding for treatment services for those who sleep rough, an extension of the Individual Placement and Support programme to help get those with a drug and alcohol dependence back into work, and an expansion of our innovative pathfinder programme Project ADDER to an additional eight local authorities (new ADDER Accelerator sites). Project ADDER is delivering change in some of the worst affected neighbourhoods, while building the evidence base to inform the development of our long-term strategic response.