EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network

Operation Heartbeat

Introduction

‘Operation Heartbeat’ focuses both on curbing drug-related problems affecting local residents and on providing care and help for addicts.

Problem

Nuisance takes various forms, including crime, disturbances of the peace, drug user gangs, street drug dealing and use, internecine conflict and prostitution.

Description

The aim of the project is to tackle the growing nuisance from the drugs culture in the city centre and near the station, and to achieve a permanently controllable and safe situation in Heerlen city centre and the area surrounding the station. The nuisance is caused by some three hundred hard drug addicts, plus dealers, runners and drug tourists from Germany. The starting-point for Operation Heartbeat is the combination of enforcement and care.

Approach

The starting-point for Operation Heartbeat is the combination of enforcement and care. A phased approach was adopted, beginning in 2000 with improvements in care provision in the region. From 2001 repressive action was intensified. One of the principal features of Operation Heartbeat is the multidisciplinary collaboration: the city authorities, regional government, police, Ministry of Justice, local health services, social services, local residents, transport operators and the prison service.

Results

The success of Operation Heartbeat has prompted the Heerlen City Government to prolong the programme for another two years in June 2005. Amongst the results at the time being are the following:

an overall drop in crime rates of fifteen percent;
a drop of sixty percent in nuisance related incidents;
drug related incidents do practically no longer occur in the station area;
since the start of the project no public deaths of hard drug addicts have been reported. The overall health status of the population of hard drug addicts has risen significantly.

Beneficiaries

Residents of the City of Heerlen, local drug addicts

Resources used

CCTV cameras have been installed and linked to the city surveillance system. A care card system has been developed which has the added effect of restricting appropriate care to addicts from within the region, thus reducing the attraction to addicts from outside the region. The care centre can provide methadone and offers medical and social services. Field workers patrol the streets to help those avoiding care. The city authorities have established a reporting point for drugs and prostitution-related nuisance. Banning orders have been found effective in controlling street prostitution.

Contact info

City of Heerlen
The Netherlands
http://www.heerlen.nl
Vivian Malherbe, tel. +31 (0)45 560 4715

Project start date

15/10/2001

Operation Heartbeat - project plan (PDF, Dut, 2.8 MB)

Operation Heartbeat - preliminary report (PDF, Dut, 2.5 MB)

Document type

case

Themes

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Quality of life

Keywords

Social services