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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Over 30% of Britons arrested are drug abusers
The Guardian Wednesday 04 Jul 2001 Author: Alan Travis, home affairs editor More than 30% of people arrested have a heroin or crack habit, according to Home Office research which reveals the extent to which drug addiction is fuelling the crime rate. Official research based on interviews with 9,214 people identified as problem drug users arrested in the last quarter of 2000 also shows that they were spending an average of £300 a week on their habit. The findings also show that while nearly two thirds of those interviewed say that their main income source was from social security benefits, some 40% also said they had significant income from shoplifting. Only one in five of those interviewed had any form of legitimate paid work. The Home Office figures are based on data from the first three months of the "arrest referral scheme" under which problem users who are brought in by the police are referred to drug treatment courses. The figures show that current drug treatment programmes are not reaching at least half of the drug misusers who are involved in crime. The results show 45% had never received any kind of drug treatment before their arrest. The research confirms that drug abuse is one of the biggest drivers of crime in Britain. More than half of the problem users arrested admitted to using heroin in the previous 30 days, 35% had used cannabis, 28% alcohol and 20% crack cocaine. Previous research shows that heroin and crack cocaine abusers account for 30% of all people arrested. The overwhelming majority arrested are male (84%), white (89%) and of an average age of 27. They were mostly arrested for petty property crimes involved in raising money to fuel their habits. Some 24% had been arrested for shoplifting, 16% for selling or possessing drugs, 10% for burglary and 9% for other forms of theft. Some 84% had convictions for previous offences. Women were more likely to have been arrested for shoplifting and men for burglary. Women who were arrested spend more on the drug habit - £316 a week on average - than men who spend £252 a week. The researchers suggest that the difference may be accounted for by the fact that women were more likely to report use of the more expensive heroin, methadone and crack cocaine while men said they were using amphetamines, ecstasy, cannabis and alcohol. The arrest referral schemes from which the official data was drawn were set up in April last year and 330 workers are operating in police custody suites to identify problem drug users as they are arrested and to refer them for treatment.
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