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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Drug crime surges to record level
Kamal Ahmed, Martin Bright and Gaby Hinsliff The Observer
Sunday 13 Jul 2003 A huge rise in drug-related crime is undermining the Government's attempts to crack down on lawlessness in Britain, new figures will reveal this week. The annual publication of the national crime figures will show rapid increases in crimes linked to drug trafficking and possession as well as sharp rises in anti-social behaviour, low-level thuggery and domestic violence. The news comes as Home Secretary David Blunkett faces a damaging defeat in the House of Lords over a key part of the Government's criminal justice reforms. Plans to prevent jury trials in complex fraud cases and where there is evidence of jury intimidation are set to be thrown out by an alliance of Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat peers. Home Office officials said they would not back down on the reforms 'in any circumstances', despite criticisms that a principle of justice, in which everyone has a right to be judged by his or her peers, is being undermined. 'Unless the Government can pull something out of the bag, I can see no hope for them on this,' said Liberal Democrat Lord Dholakia, who is a leading member of the revolt. 'If a supposedly civilised country like ours is abolishing jury trials in some cases, what sort of impression are we giving to the rest of the world?' But it is the new crime figures that will most worry Ministers. Attacks on women by their partner or former partner now account for nearly a quarter of all violent crime in Britain, the figures will reveal. The Government will say that the increase is due to more reporting of the crime, which, officials say, is to be supported. Although the Government will welcome the fact that the annual overall crime rate is falling, the figures reveal that the Government is a long way from having crime 'under control'. In a bizarre twist, the annual murder rate will also show record increases because of the inclusion of all 215 of Harold Shipman's victims. Shipman was jailed for life for 15 murders committed in Hyde, near Manchester. A statistical anomaly means that although the GP killed his victims over a 25-year period, because the final toll of deaths were not registered until last year they will only enter the murder figures this year. In an attempt to offset the increases Blunkett, the Home Secretary, will say that many of the increases are due to new police methods of collecting information. But he will admit that the prevalence of drugs on the streets is now one of his department's biggest headaches. The annual British Crime Survey, based on interviews with 33,000 people about their experiences of crime, is released on the same day as annual statistics collected by police forces will show an overall fall in crime levels. Burglary and robbery will show decreases, as well as street crime, after a series of initiatives by police forces across the country to crack down on muggings. Government critics will say that the release of the two reports on the same day causes confusion, particularly if some figures are rising and some are falling. Figures from two of Britain's largest forces show that drug crime has soared over the past year. Metropolitan Police crime statistics for the year 2002/3 show a massive 27 per cent rise in drug trafficking and possession offences with 7,000 more crimes than last year. Crimes for the possession of drugs have shot up by 30 per cent. Although the figures do not record drug-related crime - such as robbery and burglary carried out to fuel a drug habit - Home Office Ministers have said they believe the figure may be as high as 50 per cent. The Prison Service now believes that, in some jails, up to 80 per cent of prisoners are hard drugs users. In London, violent crime and sexual offences also rose, although not as sharply as for drugs. In Birmingham, the picture is even more stark. Figures from the West Midlands force show that trafficking in heroin and cocaine rose 47 per cent, with a 20 per cent rise in drugs offences over all. Murder and rape both rose by 23 per cent. Early reports from forces around the country show that violent crime has risen, with Northumbria thought to have recorded a 90 per cent rise in violent incidents.
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