Alcohol Policy UK

Drink and drug driving campaign launched in Leicestershire

Leicestershire Constabulary's Road Policing Unit has launched its annual Drink and Drug  Driving Campaign, encouraging members of the public to pass on information about anyone driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. A Loughborough news report quoted Inspector Vivienne Brenchley, commander of the Road Policing Unit who said:

This year we want to encourage members of the public to report drink and drug drivers by increasing the ways in which they can contact us.

Obviously if you spot a suspected drink or drug driver on the road then call Leicestershire Constabulary as normal on 0116 222 2222 or in an emergency on 999, so that officers in the area can be alerted.

The campaign has started just after the Department of Transport launched the latest stage in its Think! Drink Driving campaign and the Local Alcohol Strategy Implementation Toolkit, launched earlier in the year, encouraged local authorities to consider developing local drink driving campaigns in line with national communications.

7,000 Doses a day

Daily Dose - the email alert of drug and alcohol news - has just racked up its 7 thousandth subscriber.  Congratulations to Jim Young and the team; it's a fantastic achievement and a great testament to all their hard work.

If you don't get the Dose, you should definitely check it out.

Mapping of substance misuse services for young people published

Research mapping substance misuse services for young people has been published by Addaction and Turning Point, who carried out the study on behalf of the Home Office.

The report makes two very welcome recommendations directly concerning alcohol:

The DfES and Home Office should revise its drug strategy to focus more strategically on the wider issues faced by young people including alcohol and cannabis as opposed to class A drug use.

Commissioners and service providers should work together to identify the needs of young people regarding alcohol and develop appropriate provision.

It's not clear to me how or where these recommendations are substantiated in the report, but hopefully nobody will want to argue against them.

Download Developing the evidence base: young people with substance misuse problems (2005) by Nicola Didlock, Turning Point & Rebecca Cheshire, Addaction here.

DASL's domestic violence and substance misuse project

Drug and Alcohol Service for London (DASL) started its DV project in 2003. A report on the service by Ranzetta Consulting is published today to coincide with the Greater London DV Project's conference 'A bitter pill to swallow'.

DASL's project works with substance misusing women who also experience domestic violence. Support and advice to the women includes assessment, brief alcohol/drug intervention, weekly therapeutic and supportive groups, advice clinics, and one to one counselling. The project also provides drug, alcohol and domestic violence training to relevant practitioners and professionals, and participates in local domestic violence forums.

The report (download it here) reviews current thinking on best practice in DV and substance misuse interventions and assesses the project in the light of this. An evaluation framework for similar projects is proposed.

Tags
domestic violence
alcohol treatment
alcohol strategy
substance misuse