Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that the police screen suspects for gambling addictions.
All police officers in England and Wales have access to a six-hour training course on understanding and spotting early signs of gambling addictions, which launched in September 2021.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) have acknowledged there is more work to be done in this area. They are currently gathering best practice from Police forces on early screening of gambling addicts, offering the right support and signposting them to where they can seek further help. This will involve partnership working with other agencies to provide the right support that anyone with a gambling addiction requires, reflecting that police intervention often comes at a late stage of addiction.