The Director General of the Scottish Crime & Drug Enforcement Agency is the Champion responsible for driving forward the Divert strand of the Strategy.
Divert - individuals (particularly young people) from engaging in or using the products of serious organised crime. Action to achieve this is centered around raising awareness of the issues around serious organised crime, through targeted activity and direct engagement with community. The Scottish Government will work with a range of stakeholders to:
Intensify activity to provide young people with the cold facts about drugs;
Provide alternatives for young people using Cashback for Communities;
Challenge unhealthy role models;
Target groups of consumers to reduce the demand for products of serious organised crime; and
Create a Communications sub group to take a fresh look at communications work to raise awareness and reduce demand.
Examples of Divert
'Shared Responsibility Project' - Gaining an insight into alternative projects to protect the environment
The Shared Responsibility project is the Colombian Government's flagship campaign which raises awareness of the environmental and social devastation caused by cocaine production in Columbia through deforestation, pollution, corruption and violence. Colombia sees more than 18,000 murders a year - an average of 50 per day - and in the last 20 years, 2.2 million hectares of tropical forest have been destroyed to make way for coca plants.
The Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) has been working with the Colombian government to spread the campaign messages in Scotland as a way of reducing the demand for cocaine. Staff and pupils from two Scottish secondary schools (Girvan Academy and Portobello High School) undertook a 6 day visit (7-12 June 2010) to Colombia on an Anti-Cocaine Project. Accompanied by a member of staff from SCDEA Interventions team and supported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the visit, at the invitation of the Colombian Vice-President, follows previous work as part of the 'Shared Responsibility' Project.
The visit enabled the S5/6 pupils to experience first hand the social and environmental devastation caused by cocaine production in the country. The trip centred on visits to various places to learn more about cocaine production in Colombia and the impact on its communities and environment. The main features of the visit included:
- Meeting with the Colombian Vice-President and authorities regarding tackling cocaine production;
- A meeting at the UNODC in Colombia with UNODC representatives, as well as a victim of drug trafficking; and
- Shared experience meetings with Colombian students.
Across Scotland follow up work continues relating to the Shared Responsibility Project. This has included a presentation to the Scottish Government Safer Communities Directorate and exploring opportunities for joint working through the Robertson Trust (independent Scottish grant-making Trust) and Mentor UK, a leading agency working to prevent drug related harm to children and young people. In addition, various opportunities are currently being examined linking Shared Responsibility directly into the Curriculum for Excellence.
On 14th - 16th March 2011, SCDEA Interventions organised and facilitated a visit to Scotland for representatives from the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNDCO) and Colombian Embassy, London. Several educational establishments were visited including Aberdeen University plus the Glasgow Science Centre where the Shared Responsibility exhibition is currently on display. The visit afforded numerous media opportunities promoting the on going work of the project and relationship between the UNODC, Colombian Government and the SCDEA plus has resulted in creating further opportunities to widen the project throughout Scotland.
The exhibition at the Glasgow Science Centre is scheduled to run into 2012 giving thousands of school pupils, students and adults the opportunity to see for themselves the devastating effect cocaine has on all communities, both in Columbia and here in Scotland.
Many young people are vulnerable to drugs misuse and this project has given the opportunity for youth groups to integrate 'Shared Responsibility' into their drugs education work. A good example of this has been the Blackburn Local Employment Scheme (BLES) who have been helping to restore the Shared Responsibility photo exhibition currently running at the Science Centre. They have also attended various talks and workshops to learn about the issues
Educating the public about illicit goods - The Scottish Golf Show 2011
The SCDEA targeted thousands of golfers at 2011 Scottish Golf show, warning them of the risk of buying counterfeit golf equipment. The show, which coincided with the 'Masters' golf tournament attracted over 18,000 visitors as well as featuring on various news broadcasts. The SCDEA took this opportunity to highlight the involvement of serious organised crime in the production and sale of fake golf clubs, balls and accessories.
The trade in counterfeit goods - or intellectual property (IP) crime - involves the counterfeiting, piracy and trademark infringement of goods, including designer clothes, handbags, trainers, electronic goods, CDs and DVDs.
Serious organised crime groups use the trade in fake goods as an opportunity to generate profit and to fund other forms of serious organised crime, including drug dealing, human trafficking and firearms. The trade in fake golf clubs represents a lucrative area for crime gangs, and the growth in online shopping has made it easier for criminals to persuade people to part with their money for fake golf clubs.
Golf clubs are not cheap, with the cost of technology and engineering to improve club performance reflected in their high price. It's understandable that people will be tempted by a bargain but if the price seems too good to be true, then it probably is.
People should also look out for a number of other telltale signs that will distinguish a fake club from the genuine article, including subtle differences in the design, colour and finish quality, weight of the club and the placement of serial numbers. Poor manufacturing processes mean that fake clubs will break quickly and, due to the absence of carefully-designed features, golfers are likely notice a difference in the quality of their game.
Detective Chief Inspector Ronnie Megaughin, Head of Interventions, SCDEA said: "People need to be aware that the trade in fake goods is not a victimless crime. There is no such thing. Those who are involved in counterfeit crime are very often also responsible for peddling drugs in our communities, forcing people into the sex trade and trading in firearms.
"It also hurts legitimate businesses - undermining our economy and putting hard-working employees' jobs at risk. Fakes fund crime - and by making the Scottish public aware of these links, we hope to reduce the demand for fake goods and shut down this funding route for criminals."