National Symposium on Police-led Drug Diversion

This full-day national event was hosted jointly by the University of Sheffield (Centre for Criminological Research), the National Police Chiefs Council, and the College of Policing. 

The symposium aimed to advance participants' knowledge of Police-led Drug Diversion, and of the results of the Cabinet Office-funded evaluation of PDD across 13 police forces.

If you weren't able to attend the event, you can catch up on all the talks below:

Opening plenary: The strategic uses of police-led drug diversion 

Chair: Kilvinder Vigurs, South Yorkshire Deputy Mayor for Crime and Policing

• Professor Dame Carol Black (UK national advisor on drugs): The role of policing in a whole-system approach to drugs

• Commander Dr Alison Heydari (NPCC lead on Out-of-Court-Resolutions): How police-led drug diversion fits within the framework of out-of-court resolutions

• Dr Paul Quinton (College of Policing): So what? Putting evidence into practice

Plenary II: Police-led drug diversion – what works, for whom, and how? 

• Professor Alex Stevens (University of Sheffield): Introduction to the PDD Evaluation
• Dr Dan Lewer (Bradford Institute of Health Research): The impact of PDD on reoffending and drug treatment access
• Dr Matthew Bacon (University of Sheffield): How is PDD implemented?
• Alex Steven's spoke on behalf of Nadine Hendrie (University of Kent): Equity in the delivery of PDD
• Dr Jenni Berlin and Alexander Beerjeraz (User Voice): Involving lived experience in the evaluation of PDD
• Professor Mark Monaghan (Loughborough University): The realist programme theory of PDD