§ 7. Mr. LyonsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of the anti-drugs campaigns being mounted in schools by the police service of Northern Ireland. [51673]
§ 23. Valerie DaveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of the anti-drugs campaigns being mounted in schools by the police service of Northern Ireland. [51690]
§ Jane KennedyI am grateful for the opportunity to highlight the efforts being made in Northern Ireland by the PSNI to get the "don't do drugs" message across to children in our schools. It is an essential part of the overall anti-drugs strategy, with education at one end of the spectrum allied to detection and prosecution at the other. The PSNI recognises the value of including the anti-drugs message in the Citizenship and Safety Education (CASE) Programme which provides a platform for them to work in partnership with teachers and parents. The overarching aim is to encourage responsible behaviour in young people and empower them to live safely and that must include avoidance of drugs.
It is of course impossible to say precisely how effective the incorporation of the drugs education programme is in terms of numbers deterred from drug abuse, but the theme is "Education", recognising that it is better to education the young on prevention than simply to concentrate on catching offenders.