The Secretary of State for the Home Department has offered funding to the PCC to enable Cleveland Police to carry out Project ADDER. The funding is available until March 2023 and is part of a £28.3m funding package available within 4 locations across England and Wales. One of these locations is Middlesbrough.
This funding will enable Cleveland Police to carry out enforcement and diversionary activity as part of the Middlesbrough Project in the Project ADDER Programme. Project ADDER will test a new approach to drug supply involving coordinated law enforcement activity alongside expanded diversionary activity and treatment/recovery provision in the pilot areas, of which Middlesbrough is one. The overarching aim of the programme is to reduce the rate of drug deaths, drug related offending and the prevalence of drug use.
Over a period of three years the project will aim to deliver reductions in the rate of drug-related deaths, drug-related offending and prevalence of drug use in the local project areas and sustained and major disruption of high-harm criminals and networks involved in middle market drug/firearms supply and importation at a national level.
Funding of £1.325m is available with indicative grants being £325k in 2020/21, £500k in 2021/22 and £500k in 2022/23. A delivery plan has been agreed with the Drugs Supply and County Lines Unit of the Home Office and progress against this plan will be reported monthly to the Unit. The enforcement activity undertaken by Cleveland Police includes:
- Programme of themed/geographically targeted multi-agency enforcement action – Linking with the AIM process to carry out intelligence-led, set periods of enforcement action in hotspot areas and thematically, (e.g. targeting prescribed medication dealing). Expedite premises closure orders to target dealers and problematic premises – employ a joint approach with community safety, public protection and treatment service colleagues. Funding will cover the legal costs, surveillance and preparation time, etc.
- Local drug testing approach – Develop a local drug testing pathway, working in collaboration with Teesside University and Public Health by funding Staff and testing capability at a local laboratory which has already been granted a Home Office licence. Part of the Adder funding will be used to pay for this project.
The funding is phased over 3 financial years and the Home Office have indicated that they will allow some movement of spend between the financial years and quarterly reports and financial returns will be made to the Home Office in line with the requirements of the grant agreement. Critical Success Factors have been developed by the Home Office and the delivery plan will ensure that these Critical Success Factors are being met.