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Your Council working in partnership to make our city safer
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The dogs of war
Drug-related crime is falling and more users are in treatment – thanks to the efforts of many different organisations, including drug detection dogs
Many of these dogs come from rescue centres, but now they have a new lease of life in helping fight the war on illegal drugs.
The dogs are used in Hull prison to detect the scent of substances such as heroin, cannabis, cocaine and amphetamines.
“The whole point is that they see it as a game,” says dog handler Steve Harrison, of the Yorkshire Area Search Dogs Team.
“They will simply sit down and ‘freeze’ when they detect a scent and their reward is praise and play with balls and toys.”
The dogs search people who are visiting inmates – by sniffing them as they walk past.
They are also used to search areas within the prison, such as cells or workshops, where drugs might be hidden.
“The idea is to make the prison a safer place for inmates,” says Steve.
“We use Springer Spaniels and Labradors because of their natural hunting instincts and drive.
“Also, people don’t mind being searched by Labradors, where as they might be less keen to be searched by a German Shepherd.”
It’s a dog’s life
It usually takes around two months for the initial training of a dog, ideally when it’s aged between 12 months and two years old.
“But the training is actually continuous throughout it’s working life because people are always finding different ways of bringing drugs into prison,” says Steve.
“Some of the dogs come from families who can’t look after them any more because they are too boisterous, but that’s exactly the type of dog we’re looking for.
“Throughout their working lives, dogs live with their handlers 24 hours a day, but they’re not classed as pets.
“They are given the best treatment and are introduced to a handler’s family, but they don’t mix with them and live in a separate kennel area.”
Winning the war
The dogs search team was just one of many agencies showcasing their work to the public at an event in Queen Victoria Square last month.
The event, part of National Tackling Drugs Week, celebrated the various agencies’ achievements in reducing drug use and related crime.
Achievements in Hull include:
- a 15 per cent fall in drug-related crime in the last year
- more drug users in treatment
- more support for families, carers and parents
- fewer discarded needles on the streets
- drug dealers being arrested and drugs seized thanks to tip-offs from members of the public
“The event in Queen Victoria Square was also a chance for us to speak face-to-face with members of the public and find out more about their concerns,” says Vicky Harris, head of drugs strategy at Hull Citysafe.
“And we’ll be using those discussions to help shape future drugs policy in the city.
“We’re already taking action within communities to reduce drug dealing, and we’re working with residents to issue clear messages about the harms of drug use.
“When working with users, our aim is to provide rapid treatment when they are motivated to change.
“And by keeping them in treatment programmes, we can help reduce drug-related crime and the misery that goes with it.”
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Some of the agencies credited with tackling drug problems in Hull, who were present at the event in Queen Victoria Square, included:
- Compass Outreach, a service for people who want to talk about the harms associated with drug use, whether drug users themselves, partners, family or friends.
Also offers needle exchange service
- CHOICES, a support programme in which users are helped by former users
- Hull Community Wardens, who pick up used syringes from the streets as part of their daily routine
- Challenging Dependency Problems, a project which helps people with drug-related problems and provides support to carers/ families of users
- The Drug Intervention Programme, which helps users who have been released from prison
- ReFresh, a service which offers advice and support to people under 19, as well as health checks and treatment
- Humbercare, a service which provides housing support
- The Humberside Probation Trust, the work of which includes helping addicts carry out drug rehabilitation requirements handed out by the courts
- Integrated Drug Treatment service (IDTS), an initiative which aims to improve drug treatment services in prison
- The mobile copshops - portable buildings which provide a base for outreach drug workers working alongside police and community officers
- Hull Citysafe, the crime and disorder reduction partnership, which incudes Hull City Council, the police, the fire service, the local NHS, and the Humberside Probation Service
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For more information contact Hull Citysafe on 300300.
If you know of a crime in your area call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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