Public Health Institute reports

The Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) has an overarching aim to identify and engage with adults in the criminal justice system who use drugs and/or alcohol, and divert them to appropriate treatment services where a range of interventions can be delivered in order to reduce acquisitive crime. A key route into DIP is Drug Testing on Arrest, where adults are tested for specified Class A drugs (crack/powder cocaine and/or certain opiates) in police custody following an arrest. This report shows trends of drug tests carried out in Merseyside Police custody over an eight-year period up to the year ending March 2024. It contextualises Merseyside Police drug testing records for adults who offend and use specified Class A drugs identified through this key route into DIP. A demographic overview of this cohort and figures for residents of each of the five Merseyside Local Authority areas are also provided.

Merseyside was one of several areas allocated funding in 2019, and each year thereafter by the UK Government, to establish a Violence Reduction Unit. To inform the continued development of the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership (MVRP), since November 2019 Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) were commissioned to evaluate MVRP both as a whole (Quigg et al, 2020; 2021; 2022), and some selected work programmes. This report forms one of a suite of outputs from this evaluation work programme, and specifically presents a service evaluation of the Merseyside Navigator programme.

Merseyside was one of several areas allocated funding in 2019, and each year thereafter by the UK Government, to establish a Violence Reduction Unit. To inform the continued development of the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership (MVRP), since November 2019 Liverpool John Moores University were commissioned to evaluate MVRP both as a whole (Quigg et al, 2020; 2021; 2022), and some selected work programmes. This report forms one of a suite of outputs from this evaluation work programme, and specifically presents a service evaluation of the Merseyside Navigator programme.

Merseyside was one of 18 areas allocated funding in 2019, and each year thereafter by the UK Government to establish a Violence Reduction Unit. To inform the continued development of the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership (MVRP), in November 2019 (Quigg et al, 2020), July 2020 (Ashton and Quigg, 2021; Butler et al, 2021; Hough and Quigg, 2021; Quigg et al, 2021) and June 2021 the Merseyside Academics’ Violence Prevention Partnership (MAVPP) were commissioned to evaluate MVRP as a whole, and selected work programmes. This report forms one of a suite of outputs from this evaluation work programme and specifically presents a service evaluation of the Merseyside Navigator Programme.

Since 2019, Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership (MVRP) have funded the piloting of a Navigator Service delivered by Merseyside Youth Association at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust (AHFT) and Liverpool University Foundation Hospital Trust (LUFHT) to prevent youth violence. Navigators are embedded within each acute hospital trust to offer support to young people (10-24 years) who have been affected by violence or identified as at risk of violence. Attendance at acute healthcare settings is viewed as a ‘teachable moment’ when young people may be more likely to consider their life circumstances and engage with support. The programme has three core components (crisis and safety support; stabilisation support; maintenance support) and takes a personalised approach to provide support to young people and refer them into wider support in the community. In July 2021, the MVRP commissioned LJMU to conduct a service evaluation of the early development and implementation of Merseyside Navigator programme. This report presents an update on the programme in year three, following on from the yearly reports published in year one and two.

Time Matters is a Merseyside based support service which uses a combination of school-based mentoring, group support, family social activities and advocacy work to support children who have a parent in prison. In 2022, Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership (MVRP) commissioned the Public Health Institute at Liverpool John Moores University to complete a two-year evaluation of Time Matters as part of its evaluation and research work programme. This report presents a process and outcome evaluation which explored how Time Matters is implemented (including their delivery model and reach) and explored the experiences and impacts of Time Matters from the perspective of children, young people, parents/carers and professional stakeholders. The evaluation combined quantitative referral, contact and outcome data from the two-year period with interviews and focus groups with stakeholders (n=11), children and young people (n=18) and parents/carers (n=9) to understand the implementation of Time Matters, barriers and facilitators and the impacts on young people, parents/carers and the community.

The aim of Criminal Justice Intervention Teams (CJITs) is to identify and engage with adult offenders in the criminal justice system who use drugs and/or alcohol, and encourage them to engage with appropriate treatment services in order to reduce acquisitive crime. This CJIT Activity report for Knowsley shows trends over a six-year period up to the year ending March 2023 for clients accessing the CJIT.

The aim of Criminal Justice Intervention Teams (CJITs) is to identify and engage with adult offenders in the criminal justice system who use drugs and/or alcohol, and encourage them to engage with appropriate treatment services in order to reduce acquisitive crime. This CJIT Activity report for Liverpool shows trends over a six-year period up to the year ending March 2023 for clients accessing the CJIT.