POLICE are to give free needles to drug-addicted criminals when they are released from custody.

It is hoped the Cleveland Police scheme, the first of its kind in the North-East, will reduce the number of dirty needles dumped in the street.

Intravenous drug users will be given £2 packs containing syringes, needles, a sealed disposal unit and information about community needle exchanges.

Police are working with national drug charity Addaction on the scheme, and trained counsellors will also give help to drug users. No drugs will be provided.

Chief Constable Sean Price said it was hoped the programme would improve public safety.

He said: "The sharing of needles and the discarding of used needles in public places are major risks in our area.

"Police officers, frontline workers and often young children who come across these needles are at risk of contracting highly infectious, blood-borne diseases through needle stick injuries.

"By supplying clean needles, injecting equipment and containers to dispose of used needles safely, we can not only reduce the risks of spreading disease within the drug-using criminal community but also protect the public."

Inspector Kath Barber said that similar schemes operated in other parts of the country.

She said: "It would be entirely wrong to say this is encouraging people to use drugs or anything like that. The fact is, intravenous drug-users are going to use syringes and needles anyway. It is better for the whole community if they are clean."

Jamie Clarke, Addaction's arrest referral manager, said the project was an extension of existing programmes designed to help criminal drug-users fight their addictions.

He said Addaction had helped more than 650 people in Cleveland with drug problems since April.

He said: "For many drug-users, being arrested is often a crisis which provides an opportunity for change.

"This service will help minimise harm while individuals seek the treatment they need, and the wider community will also benefit."

The scheme will be available to all people detained by the police aged 17 or over.

Each bag will cost £2, but the full cost of the scheme is unknown because police and Addaction are waiting to evaluate demand.

Addaction, which is funded by the Home Office, police and a number of drug action charities, will finance the scheme.

Tina Williams, of Stockton support group Parents Against Narcotics In the Community, said needles were also available from the Addictive Behavioural Service.

She said: "A drug-user leaving custody would probably be in withdrawal and would probably go straight to a dealer. This helps the user and the public reduce disease."

Dari Taylor, MP for Stockton South, said that 90 per cent of crime was caused by drug addicts. She said: "This is all part of stopping the control of pushers over addicts."