FOI Request
Please name all participants on this scheme (Past and Present)?
How many people started on it?
How many people are still on it?
How many are PPO’s?
How many have committed crimes whilst on this scheme?
How long is the scheme running for?
What is the cost of this scheme?
Where is the money coming from?
Do Cleveland Police have any input or staff working on this scheme?
OPCC Response
I can confirm that the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland does hold some of this information.
Please name all participants on this scheme (Past and Present)?
I am refusing this part of your request under s40(a) of the FOIA, as I believe publication of the names of the individuals currently receiving treatment would contravene the principles of the Data Protection Act 2018. Individuals receiving medical treatment have a right and an expectation to privacy, under the NHS Code of Confidentiality and Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
How many people started on it?
When the Heroin Assisted Treatment programme launched in October 2019, there were four participants on the scheme.
Over the duration of the programme (approximately 13 months), a total of 14 people were accepted and started treatment on the programme.
How many people are still on it?
There are currently seven people receiving treatment.
• One client is no longer receiving treatment due to receiving a custodial sentence for offences committed whilst receiving treatment;
• One client’s treatment was paused due to them being held on remand for potential offending whilst receiving treatment;
• One client’s treatment was paused due to them receiving a mental health intervention;
• One client’s treatment was ended due to a medical related episode (unrelated to their treatment on the scheme);
• Three clients voluntarily left the programme.
How many are PPO’s?
The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner does not hold this information. S16 of the FOIA requires me to assist you in finding the information you seek – I believe this information is held by Cleveland Police.
How many have committed crimes whilst on this scheme?
Police data presented as part of performance management reports indicates that eight clients have committed criminal offences whilst on the scheme.
There has been a significant reduction in their offending. Analysis of a sample group of six participants, who have spent at least 30 weeks on the scheme, revealed that before the pilot they had committed 541 detected crimes, with an estimated cost to victims and the public purse of £2.1m. Since starting treatment the combined crime total for this sample group fell to three offences.
How long is the scheme running for?
What is the cost of this scheme?
Where is the money coming from?
I am refusing this part of your request under s21 of the FOIA, as this information is reasonably accessible to you by other means. In this instance, information about the duration of the scheme, the cost and the contributing partners is published on the OPCC website.
Decision notice from June 2019, which sets out the costings for the first year of the pilot programme:
https://www.cleveland.pcc.police.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/DRF-153811.pdf
Decision notice from July 2020, which provides details about the extension of the programme for a further 12 months: https://www.cleveland.pcc.police.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2020-00231608.pdf
Do Cleveland Police have any input or staff working on this scheme?
No Cleveland Police officers, staff or volunteers work on the scheme and the force provides no funding to the programme. Senior officers from the force sit on the multiagency Heroin Assisted Treatment Project Board, which meets regularly to assess the progress of the scheme.