Rise in crack cocaine driving up violent crime, Rudd will say

CRACK cocaine is driving crime in the UK as its use spreads from cities to the countryside, the Home Secretary will warn today.

Amber Rudd will pledge to ensure “our sons and daughters are protected” as she launches a £40 million Serious Violence Strategy to deter young people from getting into gangs.

She will highlight the “devastating impact” of crack cocaine as gangs branch out from cities to rural towns and groom children to sell Class A drugs.

It comes amid concerns that use of highly addictive crack cocaine is increasing in the UK as it becomes both purer and cheaper.

The Home Secretary will also reveal plans for new laws to restrict access to knives and acid and bring in harsher punishments for those who carry weapons.

Stop-and-search powers will be extended, too.

News of the strategy comes as a woman was arrested on suspicion of murder after a man was stabbed outside a north London station.

An extra 300 officers were also deployed in London as the capital’s murder rate rose to more than 55 in this year alone.

Ms Rudd will say today: “This strategy represents a real step-change in the way we think about and respond to these personal tragedies, these gruesome violent crimes which dominate the

‘We will make sure our sons and daughters are protected and our streets are safe’

front pages of our newspapers with seemingly depressing regularity.

“We will take the comprehensive approach necessary to make sure that our sons and daughters are protected and our streets are safe.

“As a government, we will never stand by while acid is thrown or knives wielded. We must do whatever it takes to tackle this so that no parent has to bury their child.”

The Government will spend £11 million on an early intervention youth fund to discourage children from joining gangs.

Ministers will also set up a new £3.6 million centre to hunt down gangs using so-called “county lines” to sell crack cocaine in rural areas with children and vulnerable people acting as couriers. It is understood the report will highlight how drug dealers are “excessively violent” because of intense competition.

Crack is cocaine cut with baking soda, meaning it can be smoked. It is considered the most addictive form of cocaine and “rocks” sell for between £10 and £20 each.

Official figures showed there were more than 180,000 crack users in England in 2014/15.

It is also thought that around 45 per cent of shoplifting cases, thefts, robberies and burglaries are carried out by crack cocaine users.

The number of murders where the victim or suspect was involved with drugs rose from 50 per cent to 57 per cent between 2014 and 2016.

Ms Rudd will say: “A crucial part of our approach will be focusing on and investing more in prevention and early intervention. We need to engage with young people early and provide incentives and alternatives that will prevent them from being drawn into crime in the first place.

“Because what better way to stop knife crime than by stopping young people from picking up knives in the first place?”