PCC resumes leadership role on national government drugs forum.

Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen has attended the first meeting of a newly rebranded national forum that places her at the centre of drug reform in the UK.

The County Durham and Darlington PCC, who is Joint Lead for Addiction and Substance Misuse on behalf of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), is co-chair of the National Drugs Lead Forum along with her APCC colleague, Dorset PCC David Sidwick.

The first meeting, held this week, drew stakeholders from across government and policing including Policing Minister Diana Johnson who talked about the important role PCCs will have in helping the Government to achieve its ambitions in tackling drugs.

As Co-Chair and APCC Joint Lead, the Commissioner is responsible for tracking the progress of drug strategy priorities and steering future work to ensure the approach to drug harm in England and Wales remains as effective as possible in the long-term.

The PCC has taken on a leading role in combating drugs since first being elected as County Durham and Darlington PCC in 2021.

After significant lobbying, the Commissioner was instrumental in securing a ban on nitrous oxide – seen by many as a gateway to harder drugs – and supported the implementation of a ‘drug testing on arrest’ programme locally for acquisitive crime offenders to provide a direct referral to support services for those who test positive for drugs. Additionally, she also expanded the availability of overdose prevention drug Naloxone to police custody staff, police officers on the street, those who are released from custody and more recently Community Peer Mentor volunteers and community outreach workers.

Commissioner Allen said: “I am proud to be at the centre of efforts to tackle drug addiction and drug-fuelled crime nationally. This joint leadership role is good news for Durham because it ensures I can work closely with key national decision makers to strongly influence change for the benefit of the people in our county and beyond.

“Drugs are responsible for many of the issues in our communities including street violence and anti-social behaviour. They destroy lives and families and prevent offenders from fully rehabilitating. There is much work needed to cut off the supply chain, make those who exploit vulnerable people pay more heavily for their crimes and expand the high-quality treatment necessary to help people live lives free of drug addiction. We are all committed to working harder to deliver on this agenda.”  

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