Background

Police Scotland remains committed to improving the safety and wellbeing of people across the country. Clearly, given the consistent increase in drug related deaths, there is a need to drive change in how drug related harm is addressed in Scotland. Public bodies, particularly frontline responders, must consider new approaches to tackling the crisis and Police carriage of naloxone on a national level offers a real opportunity for Police Scotland to demonstrate a positive, proactive commitment to addressing drug related harm.

The Naloxone Test of Change trialled by Police Scotland delivered positive results and benefits to Police Scotland, the police officers involved and the public and communities they serve. By developing appropriate harm-reducing measures to tackle problem drug use, the national carriage of naloxone has the potential to be a new chapter in Police Scotland’s approach to drug harms.

On Wednesday 9 February 2022 the independent Evaluation Report of the Test of Change was presented to the Chief Constable and Strategic Leadership Board. The report recommended that Naloxone training should be made compulsory for all Police Scotland officers and staff, including police custody and security officers (PCSOs).

The evaluation recognised that combatting the stigma around drug addiction is a crucial component of fighting the opioid epidemic and recommended that Naloxone training should be complemented by compulsory in-depth training/education to develop knowledge and understanding of problematic drugs use and address stigmatising attitudes towards drug users. Developing a stigma training course in Police Scotland was indicated as a particular objective in the Scottish Drugs Strategy and the results of the evaluation lend support to this.

The findings of the evaluation indicated that the majority of police officers who participated in the research element held a positive view of the carriage and administration of naloxone by Police. The high uptake of naloxone kits by officers who attended the training presents a general indication of the acceptability of the intervention.

Approval was subsequently granted for all Police Scotland operational officers, up to and including the rank of Inspector, to be trained and equipped with Naloxone as standard personal equipment. Naloxone is to be carried by these officers during operational duties in line with the Naloxone policy, which was also endorsed.

All relevant stakeholders represented on the Naloxone Delivery Steering Group (NDSG) were updated with the decision. The NDSG will be maintained for the foreseeable future to provide support, scrutiny and collaborative views throughout the National Project.