§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information is available on the number and names of police forces which(a) already routinely refer drug possession offenders to independent drugs advice agencies and (b) have plans to do so.
§ Mr. MellorThe Home Office is supporting an arrest referral pilot project which aims to put drug misusers arrested at Southwark police station in touch with the local community drug team whether or not they are also charged with a criminal offence. We do not collect information centrally on arrest referral schemes, but a recent survey by the Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence found that seven police forces have instituted similar arrangements and many more are planning to do so.
We greatly welcome schemes on the lines of the Southwark one, which were the subject of a specific recommendation in the "AIDS and Drug Misuse Part 2" report of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.