City drugssession fundedby seizures

Co-ordinators from across the city attended a drug awareness training session delivered by Synergize NI.

The training was organised by the Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) and was funded by the Criminal Assets Recovery Fund (CARF).

Rebecca Roberts from Synergize NI said: “We were delighted to be asked to deliver this interactive training session for the co-ordinators which covered the type of drugs available here, what they look like, how they affect people, what their classification is and how the criminal justice system deals with them. I received great feedback from those attending and it was obvious that this was an issue that the coordinators wanted to know more about.”

Mairead O’Doherty, one of the coordinators attending the training added: “I found the session to be excellent and extremely informative. This is something that Neighbourhood Watch coordinators are definitely interested in as shown by the number who attended. Thanks to this training we are now better informed regarding the issue of drugs here.”

Cllr Thomas Conway, Chair of the PCSP said: “I would like to congratulate all the coordinators who attended this session delivered by Synergize NI. This training is part of a larger awareness campaign being delivered across the Council area with Neighbourhood Renewal Areas also receiving training from DIVERT.

“Drugs are an issue that is continually identified in our community consultations and we have ensured that drugs targets have been included in the Foyle Local Policing Plan. We will continue to monitor the impact of drugs on our communities and support the police in dealing with this issue.”