Choose Life: Our Background
When Steve Duffy, the Choose Life project manager, joined the prison service almost thirty years ago, drugs training was pretty basic. It generally consisted of someone standing up in front of the class, showing some brown powder, and saying, "This is what heroin looks like." Then they would hold up some white powder, and say, "This is what cocaine looks like," and then, unbelievably, they would hold up an Oxo Cube, and say, "This is what cannabis looks like!"
Does this sound familiar?
Training around drugs and addiction was very poor thirty years ago, and it has hardly changed to this day. No one ever told the newly recruited officers that 75% of the people they would arrest would be heroin and crack cocaine addicts or chronic alcoholics.
In HMP Liverpool in 1988, education around substance misuse was non existent. There wasn’t even a poster on the wall, and there was absolutely no support for the inmates.
In 1995, Steve Duffy asked the Governor, Bill Abbot, to consider the role of Drugs Liaison Officer. This new role would be a crucial link between the prison officers and probation officers. The initiative was duly funded by the Home Office, and its remit was very broad. Thus began the process of setting up the first drugs services in HMP Liverpool.
Steve met a probation officer, who told him about a community play he had seen called Bang Up. He said it was brilliant, and gave Steve the theatre company's phone number. Steve contacted the theatre company and they came into HMP Liverpool to perform Bang Up for the inmates. The inmates loved it, and Steve started using drama as part of his drugs education programme...
Does this sound familiar?
Training around drugs and addiction was very poor thirty years ago, and it has hardly changed to this day. No one ever told the newly recruited officers that 75% of the people they would arrest would be heroin and crack cocaine addicts or chronic alcoholics.
In HMP Liverpool in 1988, education around substance misuse was non existent. There wasn’t even a poster on the wall, and there was absolutely no support for the inmates.
In 1995, Steve Duffy asked the Governor, Bill Abbot, to consider the role of Drugs Liaison Officer. This new role would be a crucial link between the prison officers and probation officers. The initiative was duly funded by the Home Office, and its remit was very broad. Thus began the process of setting up the first drugs services in HMP Liverpool.
Steve met a probation officer, who told him about a community play he had seen called Bang Up. He said it was brilliant, and gave Steve the theatre company's phone number. Steve contacted the theatre company and they came into HMP Liverpool to perform Bang Up for the inmates. The inmates loved it, and Steve started using drama as part of his drugs education programme...
Dave Roberts,
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Steve Duffy,
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Pat Connel,
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