It was recognised that there was a need to review the structure of meetings to ensure effective use of attendance time whilst also bearing in mind the objectives of the forum. The charging of an annual subscription to individual schemes to defray administration and venue costs has been previously discussed and needs progressing. No forum members had brought examples of administrative methods used by them which ensure access to drugs workers is offered to all arrestees as recommended in the DPAS guidance manual. A discussion followed regarding the need to consider legal requirements under PACE and human rights issues whilst also remembering that recommendations given by DPAS are only guidance and not a directive. Information is also stencilled onto the walls or ceilings of the cells.
Persons requiring more information can contact the above drug workers.
Both North and West Yorkshire Police do not currently incorporate a declaration into their custody systems being reliant upon custody staff remembering to make the offer. They do however prominently display relevant notices, provide information leaflets, and offer a 24-hour free phone number to contact the cell based drugs worker, made accessible to all arrestees. All forum members are requested to report on the systems they have in place offering access to drugs workers in the cells to arrestees. The Forum will send letters to UK Police Forces to identify what systems are in place. It became apparent that an inconsistent variety of measuring options are being adopted to monitor the offering in cell-based schemes, including numbers attending appointments, counts of completed forms, numbers of assessments and numbers attending appointments.