Jason Kew

Jason Kew

As a police officer, Jason came to understand the unintended consequences and subsequent damage caused by marginalisation and inequality within the justice system and became a passionate advocate for challenging stigma and diverting people away from the criminal justice system.

He helped to develop the Thames Valley drug diversion scheme, which enables everyone found with controlled drugs an assessment of their use and education/harm reduction without the need for arrest, interview nor admission of guilt. This scheme has been a catalyst for health-based drug interventions across the UK and further afield, also leading policy changes within education to negate the need for exclusions.

The diversion scheme harmonises with a system approach to engage communities. He shares his knowledge on evidence-based drug diversion, and on emerging schemes in the UK, in events such as at a recent side event held by the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs.

 

ISSUP profile

Presentations

Police – Going Soft on drugs

Video and audio recordings
 - 
Presented at Thessaloniki 2024 - Panel: Harm Reduction: Strategies, Challenges, and Global Perspectives in Substance Use, on the 26th of June, 2024.

Drug Policy, Day 1, Track 1, 11:00-12:30

ISSUP Event
 - 
Presented as part of the Uniting the global community to face the challenge of addiction event, in-person on 12th of May,2022 Presentations: Advocacy! Making Your Voice Known for Drug Demand Reduction - US. Senator Mattie Hunter Developing...