CRACK DEALER ARRESTS PLUMMET BY 43% IN 3 YEARS IN LONDON

9.53.38am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 27th Jun 2005

Shocking new figures revealed today by the London Assembly Liberal Democrats show that the number of crack cocaine dealers arrested in London over the last three years has dropped by almost half

The figures, taken from Mayoral Questions asked to the Mayor, show that in 2001 there were 951 people arrested for the supply, or intent to supply, crack cocaine. By 2004, this had fallen to 538 - a drop of 43%.

The latest figures from the British Crime Survey shows that London has the highest number of hard drug takers in the country, with more than 1 in twenty people having taken a Class A drug in the last year.

The Met Police estimate that in the first five months following the reclassification of cannabis to a Class C drug was in operation it saved police 14,620 hours of red tape. In 2003, Ministers said the change in the law was necessary to enable police to spend more time tackling class A drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine.

London Assembly Liberal Democrat policing spokesperson, Graham Tope, said:-

"These new figures are deeply worrying. Serious questions must be asked why it is that crack use in London rises, prices drop and yet the number of dealers caught falls so dramatically.

"Now that the police have extra resources available to them following the downgrading of Cannabis to a class C drug, they should use this not only to combat the big dealers but also to tackle street dealers who make people feel less safe on their local streets.

"When cannabis was downgraded by the Home Office, Ministers promised that the extra time officers would have would mean that they could tackle hard drug dealers. This is clearly not happening.

"The Met Police Commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, promised to clamp down on middle class 'dinner party' hard drug users, but without tackling drug dealers effectively there will be little chance of stemming the growing tide of drug abuse."

ENDS

Notes to editor

Figures can be seen below and are taken from the questions asked by the Liberal Democrats and published on the 1st June 2005. An age breakdown is available on request.

Drug use

Question No: 941 / 2005

Graham Tope

What is the total number of persons arrested for the supply or possession with intent to supply of (a) heroin (b) crack cocaine (c) all Class A drugs and (d) all Class B drugs (excluding cannabis prior to reclassification), in each of the calendar years since 2001, broken down by borough and age?

Borough 2001 Total 2002 Total 2003 Total 2004 Total Grand Total2001-2004 Percentage increase/decrease* 2001-2004

Westminster 96 41 16 28 181 -70.83

Camden 104 83 91 35 313 -66.35

Islington 12 20 21 33 86 175.00

Hackney 63 28 17 51 159 -19.05

Tower Hamlets 39 22 17 7 85 -82.05

Greenwich 58 19 2 2 81 -96.55

Lewisham 30 19 23 57 129 90.00

Southwark 36 38 18 39 131 8.33

Lambeth 81 93 61 39 274 -51.85

Wandsworth 37 26 24 7 94 -81.08

H'smith & Fulham 67 5 10 6 88 -91.04

Kensington & Chels 109 84 137 73 403 -33.03

Waltham Forest 19 17 5 1 42 -94.74

Redbridge 3 4 1 2 10 -33.33

Havering 1 3 5 1 10 0.00

Barking & Dag 0 1 20 2 23 *

Newham 17 13 17 14 61 -17.65

Bexley 0 3 2 4 9 *

Bromley 7 4 4 20 35 185.71

Croydon 9 33 21 5 68 -44.44

Sutton 3 1 8 2 14 -33.33

Merton 1 12 4 1 18 0.00

Kingston U-T 5 32 4 1 42 -80.00

Richmond U-T 0 3 0 8 11 *

Hounslow 9 13 12 6 40 -33.33

Hillingdon 7 9 36 4 56 -42.86

Ealing 22 33 27 14 96 -36.36

Brent 61 65 26 32 184 -47.54

Harrow 2 8 5 2 17 0.00

Barnet 18 4 6 2 30 -88.89

Haringey 30 76 58 34 198 13.33

Enfield 5 20 48 6 79 20.00

Heathrow Airport 0 0 2 0 2 *

99 0 0 0 0 0 0

Grand Total 951 832 748 538 3069 -43.43

· According to the British Crime Survey 2003/04:-

"Looking at use of Class A drugs, the 2003/04 BCS shows that 3.5% of the population reported having used a Class A drug in the past year. Again, those living in London had the highest proportion of drug users (5.5%), significantly higher than for England and Wales.."

Pages 30 and 81

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb0405.pdf

· According to the survey, cocaine use in England and Wales has doubled in the last decade.

· According to Drugscope:-

· "Use of crack, unlike cocaine, is often localised and linked with social exclusion and deprivation in inner city areas. For example, seizures and arrests for crack are greatest in the London area, making up 60 per cent of the UK's seizure figures."

http://www.drugscope.org.uk/druginfo/drugsearch/ds_results.asp?file=%5Cwip%5C11%5C1%5C1%5Ccocaine_crack.html

According to an interview in the Sunday Times on the 6th February 2005, Sir Ian Blair said:-

"People think the price of a wrap of cocaine is 50 quid, but the cost is misery on estates here and a trail of blood back to Colombia. Someone has died to bring it to the dinner party. People who wouldn't dream of having non-organic vegetables don't notice the blood on their fingers.

"We are not going to burst through doors in Islington, but I do want to make people concerned that they might be buying drugs from a police officer. That would be interesting, wouldn't it?"

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2092-1471661,00.html

· In November 2004, an evaluation of the reclassification of cannabis to a Class C drug by the Met Police found that they had saved an estimated 14,620 policing hours and £423,980

http://www.mpa.gov.uk/committees/mpa/2004/041125/14.htm