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Hard drug seizures fall below target, but more offenders are jailed
The Guardian
Saturday 31 Mar 2001 Hard drug seizures fall below target, but more offenders are jailed Steven Morris Saturday March 31, 2001 Police and customs have fallen well short of a government target set to tackle the trade in hard drugs, official figures revealed yesterday. Seizures of class A drugs such as ecstasy, heroin and cocaine rose only by 4.3% in 1999 compared with the previous year to just over 30,000. The target set by the government as part of its much-trumpeted 10-year strategy was 10%. The Home Office bulletin said customs officers seized only 59.4 tonnes of illegal drugs in 1999 compared with 88.3 tonnes the previous year. At the same time, the street price of cocaine and heroin fell substantially, suggesting the drugs were becoming more readily available. The drugs were also found to be increasingly pure. There was some success. Ecstasy seizures rose by a third to 6,400, and the number of people dealt with for supply offences involving class A drugs rose by 17.5% against the 10% target. But the fall in seizures of class A drugs is a concern. A Home Office spokeswoman said that while the government was pleased with the results, some areas needed work. The bulletin notes that in 1998 the number of drugs seizures increased by 9%. But in 1999 the figure was down by 13% to 132,000. The overall fall, the report says, could be down to the reduction in seizures involving class B drugs, especially cannabis and amphetamines, which is in line with government policy to concentrate resources on class A substances. Another possible factor for the decrease in seizures of cannabis and amphetamines is the fall in the number of stop and searches following the publication in February 1999 of the MacPherson report on the investigation of the murder of Stephen Lawrence. The report says the trend to import "cocktail consignments" - several different types of drugs - continued. Customs officers discovered most heroin was imported via the Balkans by Anglo-Turkish gangs. New routes for cocaine had opened in South America but Eastern Europe and the Balkans continued to be used as transit zones. However, customs succeeded in "dismantling or significantly disrupting" the activities of 138 organisations involved in smuggling class A drugs. This compared with 116 in the previous 12 months. The report reveals that the number of seizures of heroin and crack fell by 0.5% and 2% respectively. Seizures of cocaine rose by 8%. Nevertheless the street prices of both cocaine and heroin fell per gram, the former from £77 to £63 and the latter from £74 to £65. A tougher approach to drugs offenders in the courts is highlighted. The number of immediate custodial sentences given to offenders in 1999 was 11,380, a rise of 3% and a new record. There was an increase of 15% to 1,100 in the number of women sentenced to immediate custody. In June 1999, there were 8,150 people in jail for drug offences, an increase of 3% on the previous year. Home office minister Charles Clarke claimed that the statistics showed that enforcement was working in line with the government's drug strategy.
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