Petra Salisbury

There are few topics that generate as much controversy and evoke such heated dissent than illicit drug use. In grounding the dynamic and the emotive global context, we are going to explore illicit drugs in the UK; to do this the chapter will be broken down into thematic headings, and the reader will be introduced to topics that will explore the social, political, and economic cost of drug misuse in the UK. In writing this chapter, we are taking a critical theoretical position against the individualisation of complex social problems; too often we place the burden of social crises, poverty, and inequality on the shoulders of individuals; it is often a burden to great to bear. The context of drug misuse is framed within this individual discourse globally and locally within the UK; the medical, psychological, and social response overwhelmingly converges on individual responsibility and adjustment; accordingly, our discussion aims to temper that and present a more balanced perspective. We will also look at the response to drug misuse in the UK through policy and legislation, critically examining the shift from harm reduction intervention to promoting recovery. Within the discussion, we will also use the terms drug misuse, drug use, illicit drugs, and psychoactive substances interchangeably. This is a deliberate provocation and intervention on our behalf, and one that hopefully will make you question the shifting reality and perception of drugs and drug misuse; keeping this fluid and contested nature of drug misuse in mind, we would like to introduce you to the next discussion heading

The purpose of this paper is to explore the thoughts and feelings of safer injecting rooms with people who inject drugs (PWID). This was to gain an insight into their understanding of what this service offers and whether they would be likely to use one should one be available. The paper only ever intended to make this a small-scale piece of research that focussed on the local need of PWID’s, however this work was made more challenging by the outbreak of Covid-19 and access to PWID became incredibly risky. It is recognised by the author that the sample is very small, but the ideology behind the work was to ensure that PWID were included in any initial discussions proposing any safer injecting facility that may be considered for the local area. Two PWID’s were interviewed, along with two Harm reduction/needle exchange workers and two other support workers. The PWID were chosen at random during the times the researcher was able to attend the needle exchange. It was the Needle exchange staff who were able to ask people to participate and options were given to decline. The same approach was given to the staff based at the site, offers were made to interview staff and volunteers made themselves available. Many more staff were willing to participate but the idea was to gain insight from those who inject drugs themselves.

Repeat missing children pose a significant financial burden onto services, including the police, social services, and health providers. Recognising that 37 to 65 percent of missing child reports each year are repeats, efforts have been made by academics and practitioners to understand this societal problem. Research has identified the risks causing children to go missing and the harms that they experience, but these focus primarily on children missing from residential care only. This PRISMA (2020) scoping review of 76 studies explores strategies implemented to prevent repeat missing episodes, and the role/influence of the home environment (e.g., with parents/guardians, and foster or kinship care). Children go missing for different reasons and some of these are specific to the home environment: including a lack of freedom, and a desire to see family and friends. It remains unclear whether some risks and harms experienced are different considering the child’s residence. Different mechanisms seek to discover this information through direct liaison with the child via the police (safe and well checks) or with social services (Return Home Interviews). Both processes have inherent challenges that prevent them from being effective in reducing repeat episodes, through either failing to obtain the necessary information or sufficiently identifying risks and harms. Other examples of multi-agency interventions focus on only one police force area within England and Wales, and so they are not widely used or examined for their efficacy. This study recognises that children who go missing repeatedly, and do not live in residential care, are significantly overlooked in policy, practice, and research and so their needs and required support to prevent future occurrences are unknown.