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This bulletin outlines the pattern in drug-related arrests in 2000. Generally Class A arrests, especially involving ecstacy-type drugs, were up and cannabis and amphetamine related arrests were down, although cannabis related arrest still represented nearly three-quarters of all seizures.

Title: Home Office Statistical Bulletin 4/02: Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics, United Kingdom, 2000
Author: John Martin Corkery
Number of Pages: 84
Date Published: 17 May 2002

Main Points

• The information collected for this bulletin helps to shed light on the progress of the Government's Drugs Strategy. The number of seizures within the UK involving Class A drugs increased by 10.3% in 2000, against the target set of 10%.
  

• The number of persons dealt with in Great Britain for supply offences involving Class A drugs rose by 24.7%, well above the target set of 10%.
  

• Drugs with a street value of £789 million were seized by law enforcement agencies in 2000.
  

• The number of drug seizures fell in 2000 by 7% to 124,350, compared to a decrease of 12% in the previous year.
  

• The number of seizures involving heroin and 'crack' rose (by 5% and 8% respectively), whilst those involving ecstasy-type drugs rose by 46%. Seizures of amphetamine fell by 47%, and those of cannabis fell by 7%.
  

• Cannabis still represented 73% of all seizures.
  

• The number of "drug offenders" fell by 14% to 104,400 in 2000.
  

• There was no clear pattern in the number of persons dealt with for Class A drugs.
  

• Whilst the number of ecstasy-type drugs and 'crack' offenders rose by 49% and 7% respectively to record levels, cocaine offenders increased by only 2% and the number of heroin offenders fell by 5%.
  

• The number of persons dealt with for offences involving Class B drugs fell: for cannabis by 15%, and for amphetamines by 46%.

Contents

The bulletin presents statistics on two aspects of the misuse of drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971: seizures of controlled drugs within the UK and persons dealt with for offences involving controlled drugs (e.g. possession or importation) in the UK. The tables in this bulletin give seizure figures for police and HM Customs and Excise for 2000 and, where possible, corresponding figures for the previous ten years. More detailed analyses are available in the associated Area and Supplementary tables which form annexes to the bulletin.

Drug seizures made by Customs and the National Crime Squad (NCS) generally reflect levels and drug-types at, or soon after, the point of importation. Those made by the police may give some pointers to distribution patterns of drugs already in the country, diverted from medical supplies or produced illegally. Drugs recovered by the police mostly involve small amounts, typically from users or minor drug dealers. Customs and NCS seizures, although fewer in number, account for a large proportion of the total quantity recovered.

Changes in drug seizures and offenders do not simply reflect similar changes in the prevalence of controlled drugs or shifts in demand. Drug misuse is a largely clandestine activity. The numbers of seizures and offenders dealt with are affected both by changes in the amount, direction and effectiveness of enforcement effort and by changes in recording procedures. The national picture of changes in the extent of drug misuse is supplemented by repeated surveys of the general population such as Home Office Research Study 224 Drug misuse declared in 2000: results from the British Crime Survey. There are also equivalent surveys in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Research carried out on behalf of the Home Office shows strong associations between drug use and certain types of crime, especially acquisitive crimes such as burglary of dwellings and shoplifting. Research undertaken with arrestees shows that perhaps a third of acquisitive crime is linked with drug use. Results published so far can be found in Home Office Research Study 183 Drugs and crime: the results of research on drug testing and interviewing arrestees, Home Office Research Study 205 Drugs and crime: The results of the second developmental stage of the NEW-ADAM programme, Home Office Findings 148 Drug use and offending: summary results from the first year of the NEW-ADAM research Programme, and in Arrest Referral Statistical Updates.

Getting a copy

Home Office Statistical Bulletin 4/02: Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics, United Kingdom, 2000 PDF 500Kb

Home Office Statistical Bulletin 4/02: Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics, United Kingdom, 2000 - Area Tables PDF 193 Kb

Home Office Statistical Bulletin 4/02: Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics, United Kingdom, 2000 -Supplementary Tables PDF 134Kb