Police to clamp down on drug-using suspects
Drug users caught committing crimes to feed their habits will soon get access to treatment as soon as they are arrested, the Home Office has revealed.
Suspects charged with offences such as burglary, shoplifting or vehicle crime will face compulsory testing for drugs including heroin, crack and cocaine to ensure that addicts are identified early and are referred for rehabilitation.
The move is part of a £46m package of measures to combat drug-related crime that is being phased in to thirty of the worst-affected areas.
The strategy, which was piloted in April, aims to provide support and treatment to rehabilitate offenders, from the moment they are identified as drug users through to the end of their sentences and
beyond.
Home Office Minister Hazel Blears, said: “For every £1 spent on treatment £3 is saved in the criminal justice system, that is why we are spending record amounts on the fight against drugs – £1.2bn this year including £503m on treatment alone.”
“With the right treatment and support in place to get them over their addiction we can reduce crime dramatically in these areas.”
The roll out of the initiative follows a multi-agency report published last month that claimed that although the Government’s Street Crime Initiative had been an “undoubted success” in cutting muggings and robberies, it has also missed the opportunity to tackle drug-using offenders.
It claimed that although offenders were often being assessed within 24 hours of arrest, they were being given appointments for drug rehabilitation programmes that were several months away.
As many as two-thirds of the suspects arrested in some of the targeted areas have been found to be under the influence of drugs.
