New figures reveal drug crime increase
DRUG-REL ATED crime is on the rise in Kirklees, with more than two offences a day recorded by police.
The latest government figures reveal that officers in our area recorded 866 drug offences in the 12 months to June this year.
That’s up from 783 similar offences the year before, and 658 in the 12 months to June 2016.
Despite this increase, Kirklees continues to see a slightly belowaverage rate of drug crimes, with the 866 recorded in the last year working out as 20 for every 10,000 people.
Across England and Wales, there were 137,463 drug-related crimes recorded in the 12 months to June – up from 132,268 the year before, and working out as 23 for every 10,000 people.
The crimes include possession, trafficking, and other offences such at the production of illegal drugs and allowing a premises to be used for supply or production.
The most common type of drug crime recorded in Kirklees in the last year was the possession of cannabis, which can carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both.
In most cases, however, someone caught with cannabis is unlikely to actually be prosecuted.
There were 401 instances of cannabis possession recorded by Kirklees police in the last year alone – compared to 158 cases of possession of other controlled drugs.
Meanwhile, police recorded 304 cases of trafficking, and three other drug crimes over the course of the year.
While possession of cannabis makes up the majority of drug crime seen in Kirklees, most types of drug crime have seen a significant increase in the last year.
At the same time, deaths from illegal drugs have risen to their highest level on record in our region.
Between 2015 and 2017 – the latest figures available – 53 people in Kirklees died from drug misuse, which includes accidental and intentional overdoses and mental and behavioural disorders due to drug use.
Transform Drug Policy Foundation, a charitable think tank that advocates for the legal regulation of drugs, believes that legislation will help reduce the amount of drug-related crime and deaths. Ben Campbell, from Transform, said: “These figures are sadly not surprising, but entirely avoidable.
“The UK government must take responsibility for the horrifying numbers of vulnerable people dying, and even more being wrongly criminalised.
“The government are blocking, or refusing to fund, measures proven to save lives in other countries. All the while organised crime continues to thrive from the illegal drug market.
“No one has ever died from an overdose in an overdose prevention centre or heroin prescribing clinic.
“And Canada is the latest nation to legalise and regulate cannabis in order to protect children and deprive organised crime.
“The government must fully fund drug treatment, stop criminalising people who use drugs, and allow supervised drug consumption rooms now.
“Longer term, all political parties should back legal regulation of the drug market to take it out of the hands of criminals, save lives, reduce crime, and protect our communities.”
A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police told The Examiner that work was taking place to tackle serious organised criminals who were involved in supplying drugs.
The spokesman said detection of drugs offences was reliant on operations conducted by officers but also from tip-offs from the public.
“In recent months, West Yorkshire Police officers have secured significant convictions against Kirkleesbased drugs criminals.
“One of these resulted in a Kirklees-based gang being jailed for a combined 24 years for ferrying class A drugs between Kirklees and Wakefield.
“The other saw a Batley man receive an eight-year sentence in May this year for conspiracy to supply heroin and crack using a ‘dial a drugs line’.”
The spokesman said anyone with information about drugs being supplied can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.