From: Ian blenkharn@ianblenkharn.com
Category: News & information
Date: 24 Sep 2009
Time: 17:19:10 +0200
Remote Name: 86.140.161.31
News from Dundee, where intravenous drug abuse is a huge problem, that the Council are now operating a 24 hour telephone hotline to report needle finds. Tayside police and the Council itself both advertise this 24-hour phone line and promise that it is manned permanently. This number is intended to permit rapid removal of discarded drug paraphernalia, and is a great response to an obvious need.
Unfortunately, of those local authorities offering a 24-hour reporting line when we surveyed the UK LAs in 2006, all of those few who made this claim actually had a service that was restricted to office hours only, and offered an answer machine service outside those core hours.
Hardly a 24-hour service, but maybe Dundee has got it right. I feel the need for a test call.
see
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/8254557.stm
see
http://www.tayside.police.uk/newsitem.php?id=1775
see
http://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/wasteman/rapidresponse/