DIP Islington

Who we are

Islington's Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) works with people who are over 18 and misuse drugs and are in contact with the criminal justice system.

What we do

The aim of the DIP is to support people who commit crimes to fund their drug habit by helping them into effective drug treatment. This leads to positive changes for the individual and a reduction in crime in the community.
Working within police stations, probation offices, courts and prisons we seek to support drug users into treatment. Through assessment, care planning, outreach and assertive engagement Islington DIP provides ongoing support to people in accessing effective drug treatment.

We engage with those people that test positive for opiates and cocaine including crack cocaine in police custody suites. After an assessment, we discuss with the client the most effective treatment option for their needs and support them in engaging with treatment. We will also support people in resolving a range of issues including: housing, benefits, debt and bereavement. Our team operates in several locations including HMP Holloway, HMP Pentonville, Highbury Corner Magistrates Court and Islington Probation offices to support clients back into the community and drug treatment upon release.

Next steps

Islington DIP does not generally take self referrals. Clients are referred to Islington DIP:

• via a dedicated court worker who identifies clients suitable for Restriction on Bail (RoB), where a client is given bail on the condition that they engage in drug treatment
• by working with Islington’s priority and prolific offenders (PPO) scheme, Islington’s Integrated Offender Management (IOM) team, the police and probation to target, support and engage with those that have been identified as the most prolific offenders in the borough to ensure that they address their drug use

Further information

Introduced in 2003, DIPs aim to engage substance misusing offenders in drug treatment. The programme is a Criminal Justice initiative and its objective is to help offenders to stop using substances, thereby reducing crime as the need for money to fund purchase of the drugs or alcohol is minimised.