Description

First established in 2006 in Alice Springs, the Substance Abuse Intelligence Desk (SAID) has expanded over the past five years to include Dog Operation Units (DOUs) and funding for additional operational capacity in Western Australia (WA) and personnel in South Australia (SA) and the Northern Territory (NT). The main purpose of the SAID/DOUs is to gather intelligence on suppliers and criminal networks involved in illicit substance trafficking, coordinate policing operations related to illicit substance trafficking in the tri-border region in central Australia and in the north NT, and conduct enforcement and disruption activities. The purpose of conducting a review was to inform policy deliberations about future funding and the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) evaluation undertaken in 2011. The aim of the review was to assess the contribution the SAID/DOUs make to address and reduce the supply of illicit substances into remote Aboriginal communities. Primarily conducted from March through to June 2011, the review included the compilation and analysis of program and output information, statistical data, and semi-structured interviews with over 35 stakeholders. Drawing on police data and community safety surveys for the NTER communities, four key impact areas were examined: drug crime and drug-related crime, organised crime, public health and public amenity. Overall, the impact indicators indicate that increased policing and enforcement by local police and others is affecting the availability of alcohol and other drugs in remote communities. Community safety research suggests alcohol-related harms have declined in some remote communities and people feel safer than three years ago but that cannabis is causing widespread disquiet. Patterns of substance misuse in remote Aboriginal communities in the key regions where SAID/DOU operates appear to be changing with significant reductions in petrol sniffing and reduced alcohol consumption within some communities. Supply reduction and enforcement have been significant factors most notably with the Opal low aromatic fuel roll out and more consistent and prevalent alcohol restrictions, coupled with more enforcement by additional local police in many communities. The importance of continuing to address the supply of cannabis and kava was stressed by stakeholders because of the often devastating impact of these substances use on individual’s health and of the trade on communities’ economic and social well-being. Areas for improvement to the SAID/DOUs identified by stakeholders related to increased capacity, improved communication and improved co-ordination. Based on these views and the review findings, priorities include: an assessment of whether more support is needed in remote South Australia, particularly in relation to access to or locally based drug detection dogs; more strategic engagement from WA policing partners, with improved clarity about cross-border priorities, especially in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions; more comprehensive and cross-sectoral regional alcohol and drug strategies; improving impact indicator data on drug markets, most noticeably regional and remote health data; future evaluations or reviews incorporating local community views and exploring the feasibility of comparing the SAID/DOUs with other initiatives.