Scotland is to become the first country in the world where all police officers carry a spray to stop people dying of drug overdoses, as part of efforts to cut record numbers of deaths.
Police Scotland announced on Thursday that all of its frontline officers will be given the anti-overdose spray Naloxone after a successful trial in five areas.
Naloxone is administered as a nasal spray and counters the effects of drugs such as heroin, saving the lives of people who have overdosed.
During the trials in Glasgow, Dundee, Falkirk, Stirling and Caithness, officers used the spray on 62 occasions, potentially saving dozens of lives in the process.
PC Ross Hunter, who took part in the trial, said he had been astonished at how effective Naloxone was in bringing round people who seemed almost certain to die.
“I almost can’t explain it, it’s fairly miraculous to be honest,” he said. “They’re going from the worst moment in their life – a critical moment for their health – and within a few minutes at most they’re up and speaking.”
The trials were ordered as part of efforts to stem drug-related deaths in Scotland. A total of 1,339 people died in 2020, the seventh year in the row that a new record high has been set.
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The nation has by far the highest drug death rate of any country in Europe. It is more than three-and-a-half times higher than that in England and Wales.
Police Scotland said it was now working to secure enough stock of Naloxone before beginning a national training programme for more than 12,000 officers.
The majority of the force’s staff will be equipped with the spray, including frontline officers, dog handlers, armed police and anyone up to the rank of inspector.
Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said: “Preservation of life, keeping people safe, lies right at the heart of policing. We have a purpose and remit which goes beyond law enforcement.
“We have a positive legal duty to improve the lives of our communities. Equipping and training officers with Naloxone will contribute to that mission.
“Policing is so often the service of first and last resort – the service first on the scene, the service which responds to crisis and criticality.
“Where a person is suffering an overdose, Naloxone can be given safely by officers with no adverse effects.”
However, he said the initiative alone would not be enough to fix Scotland’s drugs deaths problem: “There needs to be other interventions, there needs to be support services for those who suffer drug addiction and their families.
“We as a police service will continue to target organised crime groups who bring death and misery by selling drugs to the most vulnerable people in Scottish society.
“Policing will play its part, but every agency, every part of Scottish life, must make a contribution.”
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