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1 Sep 2008 : Column 1555W—continued
Drugs: Crime
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government plans to take to reduce levels of drug-related crime. [221336]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 22 July 2008]: The new comprehensive 10-year drug strategy, Drugs: protecting families and communities and first three year action were published on 27 February. The strategy is focused on preventing the number of young people developing drug problems, targeting families at risk and intervening early through a whole family approach, protecting communities through robust enforcement by attacking drug supply at all levels and cutting drug-related crime and disorder.
Key actions to reduce drug-related crime include:
Extending police powers to seize more of drug dealers’ (and other criminals’) assets, and further asset sharing agreements to allow seizure of assets sequestered overseas.
Continuing to present drug misusing offenders with tough choices to change their behaviour or face the consequences.
Managing offenders better at crucial times, such as on discharge into the community from prison, by reviewing and strengthening the links between prisons, local Criminal Justice Integrated Teams (CJITs)and probation services.
Responding to community concerns about drugs and through the Neighbourhood Policing approach, act on intelligence supplied and provide feedback to the community.
Drugs: Leeds
John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people from (a) Leeds West and (b) Leeds Metropolitan District were (i) arrested and (ii) convicted of drug trafficking offences as a result of National Crime Squad operations in each of the last five years. [220710]
Mr. Coaker: The National Crime Squad did not retain information on where people arrested and/or convicted of drug trafficking offences were originally from. The Serious Organised Crime Agency, which was formed in April 2006, similarly does not collect this information.
Drugs: Misuse
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps the Government has taken to reduce levels of illegal drug consumption. [221335]
Mr. Coaker
[holding answer 22 July 2008]: In February, the Government published the new 10-year drug strategy, Drugs: protecting families and communities, which sets out the action that will be taken to address the harms caused by drug misuse and to reduce levels of drug consumption. This strategy builds on the successes of the previous drug strategy, focusing action where it will
generate the greatest benefit and extending the reach and effectiveness of our interventions.
Since the introduction of the previous strategy in 1998, we have seen significant falls in the self-reported use of illegal drugs. Data from the British Crime Survey show that in 2007-08, compared to 1997, the proportion of respondents aged 16-59 reporting the use of any illegal drug in the year preceding the survey fell from 12.1 per cent. to 9.3 per cent., while the proportion reporting the use of class A drugs remained stable. The same data show us that, compared to the previous year, there have been significant reductions in the use of cocaine, ecstasy, amphetamines and cannabis.
This pattern is repeated among young people. Data from the survey show that, among young people aged 16-24, class A drug use has fallen from 8.6 per cent. in 1997 to 6.8 per cent. in 2007-08, while the use of any illegal drug has fallen from 31.8 per cent. to 21.3 per cent. over the same period. Again, there have been falls in the use of individual drugs compared to the previous year, including cocaine, ecstasy, amphetamines and cannabis.
The drug strategy takes a comprehensive approach to reducing the demand for, and consumption of, illegal drugs. This approach spans:
prevention activity through more effective drug education and information, and through early targeted interventions with the families and young people who are most at risk of developing problems; interventions through the criminal justice system where problematic drug misuse has led to offending, coupled with tough enforcement action to tackle the supply of illegal drugs;
effective treatment and support, to help people to overcome problems with drugs and to re-establish their lives; and
communications activity, to support parents in preventing drug use among their children, and to increase the confidence and resilience of communities.
Copies of the drug strategy were placed in the Library at the time of its publication and I refer my hon. Friend to the actions in the strategy which are being taken to reduce the use of illegal drugs.
Drugs: Smuggling
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were (a) arrested and (b) convicted of drug trafficking offences as a result of National Crime Squad operations in 2005-06. [219422]
Jacqui Smith: In 2005-06, the National Crime Squad reported 562 arrests in connection with the trafficking of Class A drugs. During the same period there were 309 convictions in connection with the trafficking of Class A drugs.
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were (a) arrested on suspicion of and (b) convicted of drug trafficking offences as a result of operations by the Serious Organised Crime Agency in (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2007-08. [219479]
Jacqui Smith:
In 2006-07, SOCA recorded that there were 601 arrests and 236 convictions in operations where drug trafficking offences was the primary threat.
Similarly in 2007-08 there were 774 arrests and 243 convictions in operations where drug trafficking was the primary threat.
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been (a) apprehended, (b) charged and (c) imprisoned for drug importation and dealing offences as a result of maritime operations carried out by (i) the UK Border Agency and (ii) other agencies involved in border patrols in each year since 1997. [220110]
Mr. Byrne: From April 2008, the UK Border Agency took on responsibility for maritime operations which had previously been undertaken by HM Revenue and Customs and were formerly the responsibility of HM Customs and Excise.
Arrest, prosecution and sentencing results arising from maritime operations are not distinguished from those arising from other border operations. Therefore, the information requested could be obtained only by the detailed examination of individual records at disproportionate cost to the business.
UKBA Maritime assets work regularly in support of operations by both the police and SOCA in order to provide the earliest possible interdiction of importation attempts and suspected attempts.
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the value of drugs seized in maritime operations by (a) the UK Border Agency and (b) other agencies involved in border patrols, expressed in 2008 prices, in each year since 1997. [220111]
Mr. Byrne: From April 2008, the UK Border Agency took on responsibility for maritime operations which had previously been undertaken by HM Revenue and Customs and were formerly the responsibility of HM Customs and Excise.
Seizure results arising from maritime operations are not distinguished from those arising from other border operations. As a result of this, the information requested could only be obtained by the detailed examination of individual records at disproportionate cost to the business.
Emergency Calls
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many telephone calls made to emergency 999 telephone operators in which the caller wished to report a crime were not treated as an appropriate 999 call in (a) North Kent, (b) Kent and (c) England and Wales in the latest period for which figures are available; [215715]
(2) how many telephone calls reporting crimes were made to (a) the 999 emergency number and (b) local police stations in the latest period for which figures are available; and what estimate she has made of the average (i) cost and (ii) duration of such calls. [215716]
Mr. McNulty: The available data on 999 calls are given in the following table. The remainder of the information requested is not collected centrally.
| Emergency call handling (provisional)( 1) by force for 2006-07 | |||
| Local target time for answering calls (seconds) | Number of 999 calls received | Number of 999 calls answered within target | |
| (1) Data collected on behalf of HMIC who use them for inspection purposes only. These data are provisional, and have not been validated with forces. (2 )Data are not available for City of London for quarters 2 to 3. (3 )Data are not available for West Mercia for quarters 1 to 4. (4 )Data are not available for Wiltshire for quarter 4. | |||
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