PCC statement on National Audit Office report on illegal drugs strategy

It is no secret that tackling the issue of drugs is complex and requires a robust approach. Drugs and drug-related harm remain significant problems in today’s society, having a huge impact on our communities. As the Association for Police and Crime Commissioner’s (APCC) Joint Lead for Addictions and Substance Misuse with co-chair, PCC Joy Allen, I am all too aware of the wide range of different measures needed to effectively deliver the Government’s 10-year Harm to Hope Drugs Strategy.

Combatting illicit drugs is central to so many areas of crime reduction and community safety, from mental health to road safety. Tackling drugs may be the biggest single thing we as Police and Crime Commissioners can do to prevent crime and ensure our communities feel safer. For example, it is estimated that 45% of acquisitive crimes (excluding fraud) and 48% of homicides are drug-related. I am also aware that drugs can often be the root cause of anti-social behaviour. This is why getting to the root of drug misuse is so crucial to driving down crime.

I strongly believe the key to achieving a long-term reduction in drug use, is impactful education and prevention. I have been more than clear how vital this is. The National Audit Office in their report into the Government’s 2021 drugs strategy, have highlighted the lack of an effective drug prevention system as something which needs urgently addressing. I couldn’t agree more. In order to achieve the change we all want, we need to enforce the now, but fix the future.

That is why I have been calling for deeper understanding into the best education methods to address this important issue, while calling for efforts to raise awareness around the harm of drugs from an early age. We need to look at a systematic commitment to address this and be clear to people from a young age the devastating impact drugs can have on them and those around them.

I am in full support of tough enforcement and effective rehabilitation – indeed in 2022-23, 1,300 County Lines were closed and more than 3,000 organised crime activities disrupted - but impactful education which signposts the mental and physical injuries various drugs can cause, is vital. We can’t just enforce our way out of this situation, we need to talk to young people in terms that make sense; tell them the stories of people who have suffered personally, and the impact on their families. To drive this forward, in my joint lead role, we recently met with the Chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to discuss prevention and other measures for 11-24 year-olds, and submitted evidence to the ACMD working group looking at this.

It’s important to say there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the work already taking place to deal with drugs and the affect they have on the communities in which we live and work. Dorset’s Combatting Drugs Partnership, in which I am the Senior Responsible Officer, is laser focused on four key areas – enforcement, treatment and recovery, prevention and joint analytics across the county. With many PCCs leading the work of 106 multi-agency partnerships in their regions, we know this is the right way to make progress against the war on drugs. Working together, we are looking at the breadth of PCCs experience to take the best approaches forward in a co-ordinated way at a national level.

And earlier this month, as part of Operation Scorpion activities - the collaboration between five police forces to tackle drug supply across the region - Dorset Police made 26 drug-related arrests and seized more than £93,000 worth of illegal drugs along with 17 mobile phones, which could contain valuable information on dealers and active county lines. I hope this goes to show how serious I am about making Dorset a hostile environment for drugs.

I can assure you my work to lobby on prevention and early intervention, as well as the need for greater certainty around future funding which will allow us to develop local services long term, will continue at pace. This is a once in a generation chance to turn the tide against drug misuse, and I’m determined to make it count. 

David Sidwick

Police and Crime Commissioner