Transcript Presentation Dying for Help Presentation Dying for

Drugs related deaths &
overdoses conference~
DYING FOR HELP
DCI Peter AZZOPARDI
Swansea BCU
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July-August-September 2006
Increase in drug related intelligence and
activity in the High Street Swansea and
other parts of city.
Started to focus upon drugs overdoses and
reported “drug related” deaths
Correlation between this and dwelling
burglaries in particular
Looked at comparative figures across
South Wales Police area
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We started to ask the questions~
Is it different in Swansea?
How accurate is the comparison with other BCU`s
[Unitary authorities]?
What do we know as opposed to what we think
we know?
Are reported drug related deaths really related to
drugs?
What impact does it have upon visitors and
commuters to Swansea [Railway Station/Bus
station central locations to drug dealing]
What is the picture nationally?
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Swansea
~ Covers an area of approximately 200
square miles and measures 21 miles from
east to west. Surrounded by sea to the south
and valleys in the north, it embraces rural
and urban communities. It is bordered by
Neath and Port Talbot to the east and north
and by Dyfed Powys to the west.
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Swansea population: approximately 223,000.
Visible ethnic minority proportion of the
population is about 2.3%.
Regional centre, Swansea attracts large
numbers of visitors and commuters and the
area.
Good public transport links, easy access to
the M4 motorway, mainline train services and
Cardiff International Airport.
Home to many commercial enterprises and
includes a number of large employers, such
as the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency.
– Considerable inward investment ~
– High level of development planned in city
centre pubs and clubs.
– Adds to an already busy nightlife, presenting
increasing challenges for the police and
partners responsible for maintaining order
– Major regeneration of the southern part of the
City taking place, which encompasses the
maritime area.
– The ‘SA1 Swansea Waterfront Development’
The area covers approximately 100 acres and
will eventually include over 1,000 apartments
and houses.
The Swansea economy is heavily represented by
jobs in the public administration, hospitality and
financial services sectors. Of the 108,000 people
estimated to work within the City & County,
 almost 89% are employed in the service sectors
 almost 37% (40,000) working within ‘public
administration, education and health’ alone.
The manufacturing and construction sectors in
Swansea employ 8,600 (7.9%) and 2,900
(2.7%) respectively, with manufacturing’s share
of employment in Swansea lower than that for
Wales and Great Britain.
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Heroin
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Crime
Social degeneration
Health Hazards
Tolerance, Addiction and withdrawal
Treatment
Hidden victims ~ family, friends
Public and Organisational perceptions and
attitudes
National Statistics
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UK -highest level of problem drug use
and second highest level of drugrelated deaths in Europe
UK supply of Heroin & cocaine equates
to 5 containers full, £5 Billion pounds
Crime and Health costs - £24 Billion
280,000 high harm users ~ only 20%
in treatment and not for long.
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Seizure rates nationally 20% -need 6080% to make significant difference.
749 deaths annually from Heroin/cocaine
compared to:
6000 deaths from alcohol abuse
100,000 deaths from tobacco
UK Drug Policy Commission set up April
07 ~ ~ “we currently do not know
enough about which elements of drug
policy work, why they work and where
they work well."
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Examples of the issues
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Sunday April 1, 2001
SocietyGuardian.co.uk
The picturesque hills and valleys of Wales,
synonymous with male voice choirs, close-knit
communities and fanatical rugby supporters, have
become home to the fastest-growing drugs
epidemic in the UK. The results of a new study, to
be made public this week, show that Wales is
caught in the grip of an unprecedented heroin
epidemic, with a massive surge in the number of
users, seizures and those dying from overdoses.
With rising unemployment, youths are using and
dealing drugs as a way of getting by. 'Where there
is no hope,' the saying goes, 'there's always dope.
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2000 : 274 drug related deaths reported.
Summer of 2001, 11 drug related deaths in
one of the divisions at South Wales Police in
a 2-month period.
March 2002 Operation Tarian set up by SWP,
Gwent, DP and later on NWP
Remit ~
tackle substance Misuse and in particular
the enforcement of the problem of Class A Drugs and
Organised Crime Groups
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Recent results~
Operation Alaska ~ Gwent area ~ 50,000
ecstasy tablets and 10 kilos of Amphetamine
Operation Fenton ~ Belgium ~ Met Police~
RTF~ Gwent~ 170,000 ecstasy tablets and
amphetamine recovered
Targeting class A drugs coming to South
Wales from Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol
and London and abroad
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Wednesday April 18, 2007
The Guardian
I am a drug dealer. I park in dark streets waiting
for the man (more often the lad) to exchange a
small package for a disproportionately large
quantity of cash. I subdivide it into 14 wraps and
dole it out to my "customer". I use the term
customer loosely and in the singular because I
supply only one addict who is not a paying client,
my 19 year old son.
Anna Wright is a university lecturer. She buys
heroin for her son. She explains why, and
describes the strain on all the family of living with
an addict
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Swansea ~ Some conclusions
Estimated 6000 heroin users
Approx 415 currently in treatment~
methodone/subutex
Approx 250,000 needles issued through needle
exchange [High proportion to steroid users]
High incidence of overdoses and deaths
Heroin ~ drug of choice
Majority of overdoses appear to be heroin
related
Heroin usage cuts across social boundaries
Oct-Dec 06 persons arrested for dwelling
burglary~ all heroin addicts
Enforcement campaign plan
 Need for improved multi agency joined
up working
 No single database available to properly
assess how effective treatment
provision is
 Anecdotal evidence that lack of
availability of cannabis led to direct
route to heroin
 Financial rewards worth the risk~helps
finance own habit
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Example- purchased teenth [1/16th ounce
[1.75gms]] of heroin for £50 at approx
60% purity which without cutting will
produce approx 17bags
At 60% purity it has the potential for
cutting and increasing the “bag” number
for sale to 25 and still have a “quality”
product.
EFFORT Required- very little
PROFIT £200
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Since 1st August 06
85 non fatal
overdoses and 19 deaths initially attributed
to Heroin or methadone consumption [with
other substances]
HEALTH WARNING over figures
1st Aug 06-31st NOW~ following
comparisons
A BCU 5 Deaths
C BCU 4 Deaths
E BCU 4 Deaths
F BCU 1 Death
G BCU 6 Deaths
Swansea statistics
Month
Overdose
Aug 06
5
Sept
17
Oct
7
Nov
4
Dec
3
Jan 07 2
Feb
6
Mar
9
Apr
17
May
4
June
11
Deaths
0
5
3
1
1
1
2
4
1
0
1
Gender of individuals who overdosed
 Gender
Non Fatal
Fatal
Male
68
13
Female
12
6
u/k
5
0
Age Range
18 & under
6
0
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19-25
26-30
31-35
20
17
9
6
4
4
36-40
41-45
46 & over
Unknown
7
4
2
13
3
2
0
0
Non Fatal
FATALS
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Prison release associated issues
Non Fatal:
1 individual
1 individual
1 individual
Fatal:
1 individual
1 individual
1 individual
– 3 weeks,
– 10 days &
only several days.
died 3 days after being released,
died 4 days after being released
up to 7 days after being released.
Overdoses- reasons
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Mixture of drugs – including methadone
Mixing of drugs with alcohol
Failing to account for purity- levels
ranging from 30%-70% hence overdose
Recently out of prison- low tolerance
Overdose- survival
Availability of someone to begin artificial
respiration and call an ambulance
 Time it takes to get an ambulance
 Amount and type of drugs taken ~ including
alcohol
Narcan ~ antidote to heroin, Blocks heroin
from acting on opioid receptors and it
revives the person almost instantaneously.
However, the person will need to go to
hospital. Narcan wears off faster than the
heroin does.
 Someone who has had a big dose of heroin
may become unconscious after a few hours
as the Narcan wears off.
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Operation Almolonga ~why?
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Overdoses & deaths – high concentration in
High St/Mathew St/Griffin John St..
Intel of open dealing in street including Big
Issue Sellers in town
Increase in burglaries ~ those arrested
invariably heroin addicts
Traditional policing methods, warrants
/police presence limited impact
Policing pressures from other major
incidents and targets eg targeting of auto
criminals
Undercover officers deployed Nov-Dec06 & 2
wks in Jan 07
 Issues~
 Cost £4k-£5k per week
Dedicated team to keep UC officers safe and
gather evidence to obtain convictions
 Forensics ~ fast track exam of purchases
 Intensive file preparation process post arrest
 Very labour intensive, Community against
drugs team and others written off for the
duration- impact upon BCU
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Outcomes~
Very good intelligence picture re High St area
and improved picture re those bringing drugs to
Swansea
Heroin confirmed as drug of choice- minor
cannabis picture and crack cocaine
Heroin purities 30-70% pure – cheap and
plentiful [big issue for users]
Many of the street dealers involved in crime
ranging from shoplifting-burglary-robberies
37 arrested during Mar 07- most remanded in
custody
Operation Phoenix
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Multi agency~ Aims prevent relapse in High
St and social regeneration
High visibility police presence
High visibility drug agencies presence
Warrants execution/enforcement – 40
further arrests- less effective [mainly
possession offences]
Visiting local residents to increase visibility
and gain community contact
Deal quickly with intelligence received and
publicise the results
Operation Phoenix cont..
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Working with council ~cleaning areas
where needles identified
Working with BTP
Warning local premises identified as
locations where stolen goods and drug
dealing taking place
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Event planning – Escape in the Park
16/05/07…attendance 13800
Operation involving 87 officers –drugs
aspect only
88 persons stopped ~variety of drugs~ one
alone had 524 ecstasy tablets
14 of these arrested and charged for
possession w/intent to supply drugs~
cocaine, ecstasy, amphetamine and cannabis
Some minor overdoses
One major overdose taken to hospital
 NO ONE DIED
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What else are we doing?
Swansea BCU Class A drugs no 1 Target
Working with force central resources -enforcement
On a daily basis drugs analyst updates current database
of deaths and overdoses- imperative that we have clear
picture
Chair~ SMAT crime reduction thematic group
7th March 07 set up specific initiative with 3 treatment
providers, Sands, Wcada, CJIT
Unprecedented joint working between the agencies
Details of those who have overdosed previously shared
with the three agencies ~ proactive visits~ MESSAGE ~
people are dying in Swansea~ offer to
engage or keep safe
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Continued~
Working with prison/CJIT to identify people at risk
as they are coming out of prison- no tolerance to
strong heroin doses
Press/media articles
Engagement with Ambulance Service and Hospital
Trusts to target those who miss the current info
gathering process
Improved contact between prison and agencies
Developing Joint Action Group
Application to WAG for funding towards harm
reduction and treatment~ pilot towards best
practice in Wales
What next~
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Maintain current momentum
Review of all drug related deaths to see what
lessons can be learnt.
Engagement with employers, private/public.
10 year drug strategy in England ends April 2008
8 year Welsh Strategy~ Tackling Substance
Misuse in Wales: A Partnership Approach
ends in May 2008
WAG developing new strategic plan~ seminars~
our opportunity to utilise out knowledge,
experience, developing and identified best practice
towards a new informed strategy.
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An opportunity to challenge government
thinking, ourselves and the community
Examine current strategy priorities of:
Children, Young People and Adults
Families and Communities
Treatment
Availability
Identify ~ What are the outcomes? Can we
identify the progress made? What is working?
Does it feel like we are making progress?
Not shy away from asking the
difficult questions
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Some of the ongoing debate~
Predominantly criminal justice response to what
many maintain is a public health problem.
“ It describes what I did not who I am”
The Dutch, Spanish, Swiss, Portuguese and
other nations have adopted a more public healthfocused approach. What can we learn from
them?
Are we unwittingly supporting the massive
profits associated with organized crime and drug
supply?
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What lessons can we learn from the 1980`s
Aids/HIV harm reduction strategy-led to one of
world's lowest rates of aids/HIV-why was it so
successful?
Smoking~ now perceived as anti social ~ how did
we get to this point? what can we learn from the
progress made to date?
Should we maintain the status quo based upon
enforcement, early intervention, education and
treatment?
Are we too impatient? Are we expecting results
from policies that have been in place for 8-10years
for a problem that has existed for much longer?
DYING For our HELP~Summing up
2000 - 271 deaths within SWP area
We have made many gains but our goal is to
keep improving
Telling a parent that their child is dead remains a
dreadful message
Encourage less judgement people~ many reasons
for addiction
Swansea ~ Drug related overdoes and deaths are
too high
Need to engage more with community to obtain
the necessary intelligence
Imperative that we identify what works well,
deliver it and work together as a team.
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 Thank
you
Questions