54 alcohol and drug offences a week in Motherwell and Wishaw

Apr 1 2009 by Richard Mooney, Wishaw Press

ACCORDING to police statistics there’s an average of over 50 crimes a week relating to alcohol and drugs in Wishaw and Motherwell.

From 2000 to 2008 the sub-division of Strathclyde Police that covers the two towns recorded a whopping 22,651 booze and drug offences.

That averages out at 54 offences a week and the worrying figures were discovered by the Wishaw Press after an Audit Scotland investigation reported that local councils and health agencies are failing to tackle the country’s binge drinking and drug culture.

After hearing the numbers, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw Jack McConnell said: “Obviously these figures are very worrying and are a stark reminder of the need for both prosecution and prevention of drug and alcohol abuse.

“Nationally and locally, government and police must fully resource the fight against dealers and abusers but at a local level the efforts to prevent addiction and alcoholism must be better coordinated and tougher in their approach.

“It is not enough to just manage addictions.”

The former First Minister added: “For the good of the whole community we need to help people clean up their lives and get a fresh start.”

Superintendent Marshall Pretswell, Sub-Divisional Officer for Motherwell and Wishaw, argued that drug offences have fallen from last year and overall crime is also down.

He said: “Overall recorded crime and offences are at their lowest level for six years in the division. We have seen a drop of over 5000 crimes while more serious crimes have fallen by six per cent.

“Within the sub-division, crimes directly related to drugs and alcohol (consumption of alcohol in designated places, drink and drug driving offences, drug possession, drug supply and being drunk and incapable) have seen a 15 per cent reduction on last year.

“Whilst in statistical terms there can be no doubt that we are heading in the right direction in this area, we need to be mindful that robust, well-targeted, pro-active policing can cause these figures to rise. That is why we are committed to working with our partners to root out the causes of crime and ensure that there are a range of diversionary activities in place to tackle these problems alongside traditional policing methods.

“Enforcement remains our main priority and we continue to disrupt the activities of drug dealers. For the year to date, we have detected 164 crimes relating to the supply of drugs, this is a 12 per cent increase on last year and further serves to highlight our success.

“Test purchasing operations will continue to play a key role in detecting premises selling alcohol to underagers. We work closely with licensed premises and make every attempt to make them aware of the responsibility they have in stamping out underage drinking.

“We take a zero tolerance policy to failing test purchasing operations. Licences have been suspended and may be revoked in the case of further failure.

“Keeping our local communities a safe place to live and work is our priority. The introduction of community policing teams has had a significant impact and I am sure will continue to ensure we are successful in tackling all aspects of criminality.”

The report states that the drug and alcohol problem claims over 1900 lives a year across Scotland and costs the taxpayer more than £5 billion a year.

The Lanarkshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership (LADP) is the immediate local body appointed by the Scottish Government to combat booze and drug problems within the county. It is made up of North Lanarkshire Council, NHS Lanarkshire, Strathclyde Police, Strathclyde Fire & Rescue, the Scottish Prison Service, the Crown Office, the Procurator Fiscal Service and the Scottish Drugs Forum.

Colin Sloey, Chair of LADP, said: “In Lanarkshire there is a highly coordinated approach to tackling drug and alcohol problems and delivering high quality drug and alcohol services through the Lanarkshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership.

“Indeed, the local partnership was praised for its performance by the Scottish Government following a recent review of the effectiveness of ADPs across Scotland. All services funded by the Alcohol and Drug Partnership are subject to robust performance management arrangements to ensure they deliver effective outcomes and value for money for the people of Lanarkshire

”Through the partnership our key aims are to safeguard and promote the interests of children, people and families affected by substance misuse; reduce the level of alcohol and drug-related harm at a community level; and develop appropriate services and support for individuals with alcohol and drug related problems. In doing, so we are delivering a range of services and initiatives to prevent and treat drug and alcohol problems and improve the safety of communities in Lanarkshire.”

Between 2000 and 2008 there were 11,023 offences relating to consumption of alcohol in designated places, 1728 drink or drug driving offences (including failure to provide a specimen), 6993 drug possession offences, 1180 drug supply offences and 1727 drunk and incapable offences. That comes in at a total of 22,651 offences.

Further breakdown of the figures reveals that for every seven drug possession offences in the area, there’s one drug supplying offence.

The figures, available from the Strathclyde Police Crime Statistics website, also show a significant rise during 2002 to 2003 where booze and drug offences almost doubled from 1648 to 3207, rising again in 2004 to 3368, and then again to 3861 in 2005, before dropping each year until it reached 2633 in 2008.