Worry over more visible drug users ‘Situation is getting an awful lot worse than before’
People in villages and communities outside the city centre may be seeing more people taking drugs because the pandemic has dispersed the issue.
Members of Stirling Council’s public safety committee spoke last Thursday of the perception that there were more people in streets in their wards who appeared to be under the influence of substances.
This was despite figures being presented to the board suggesting detection of both possession and supply of drugs had fallen.
Bannockburn ward Labour councillor Margaret Brisley said: “I certainly have more and more people within the communities I represent, that didn’t do it before, openly walking about under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
“There are a number of
The perception is that drug use is increasing and more visible in rural areas than it was in the past Cllr Jane Hutchison
complaints about people supplying drugs and the public perception is that the situation is getting an awful lot worse than it was before.
“I know it’s difficult for police and you need evidence but it’s becoming a worry. I personally walk about more than I did before and have actually seen a number of people and thought they were certainly affected by something. I never saw that before so obviously, not in small communities like Bannockburn or Cowie.”
Forth and Endrick Tory councillor Jane Hutchison agreed with Councillor Brisley, adding: “The perception is that drug use is increasing in our communities and more visible in rural areas than it was in the past and in urban communities.”
Councillor Hutchison also asked if police were aware locally of any ‘County Lines’ activity - a form of criminal exploitation where urban gangs persuade, coerce or force children and young people to store drugs and money and/or transport them to suburban areas, market towns and rural communities.
Stirling area commander Chief Inspector Gill Marshall said: “There is probably not greater prevalence but with people spending more time in their communities in the past 18 months than ever before they have probably started to notice and the intelligence has started to filter through.
“Personally my sense is that it is probably not more prevalent but we have just seen a displacement of it.
“A few years ago we would probably have been talking about drug misuse in the city centre but what we are now seeing is the dispersal of that throughout local communities, which in some ways assists us in getting the reporting we need because people don’t have the tolerance for it.
“I don’t feel it’s a massive spike in drugs misuse but perhaps just a changing picture.”
On the County Lines issue, CI Marshall said there had been “fairly significant activity” and number of visits and recovery previously but that police “haven’t seen that of late” and there was no intelligence to suggest the area was currently experiencing that.
However, she added: “It’s absolutely on the radar and is discussed at a number of forums to ensure we are on top of that, but at the moment I’m assured we don’t feature.”
Inspector Liam Harman outlined a number of local cases where drugs warrants had recently been executed, adding: “We welcome the intelligence we get from members of the public.
We need to collate information and once we have what we need the process starts - but we can’t do that without the help of members of the public who share information with us.”
The total number of drug crimes - including production, manufacture, cultivation, supply and possession of drugs - detected between April and August this year was 175 compared to 200 for the same period last year, a drop of 12.5 per cent.
Possession of drugs (detections) was 168 for the same period of last year but 156 for this year, down 7.1 per cent
Supply of drugs (detections) was 29 from April to August last year but 19 for the same period this year, down 34.5 per cent.