Drug plan smacks of defeat...

We know by most measures that we are far from winning the war on drugs, but is a plan for police to give free heroin to addicts admission that we’ve finally lost it? It certainly feels like it. Durham Police and Crime Commissioner Ron Hogg is moving to give the Class A drug to addicts in supervised ‘shooting galleries’ in a bid to tackle drugrelated crime.

The indignant clattering of keyboards can be heard across the community.

For many, the police plan smacks of defeat.

Responses on our Facebook page include comments like “Free cigarettes for smokers next” and “you couldn’t make this up.”

For those proponents of the short sharp shock school of justice, dishing out medical grade heroin to criminal addicts is the start of a slippery slope.

But the big supporter of this move is a man who once supported the toughest of stances.

Mr Hogg freely admits that when he started the force he was “part of the ‘best lock them up brigade’.”

But he saw how the tough love failed to make inroads. Statistics show that deaths from heroin have soared recently.

While this move may stick in the craw, it is not without merit.

Trials have shown that the introduction of controlled ‘shooting galleries’ have reduced crime and reformed offenders.

It is also a significantly cheaper course of action than simply jailing the addict.

And if it reduces criminality, it will hopefully free up police time to catch the bigger fish ... the drug dealers themselves.

It may feel like a battle has been lost, but we trust that in the long run, this project helps win the war