Drugs a Top Priority

Why does Devon and Cornwall have more drugs use than almost anywhere else in the country? The answer: End of the line syndrome. The tendency to keep going until you run out of road that leads many of Britain's drug users down the Peninsula. We are fortunate, those of us that come from the West Country, in that we have a great climate and beautiful countryside. My roots are deep in Cornwall which is such a magnificent county. But Devon and Cornwall is an area, one of just three in the country, about which HMIC (Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary) expresses concern. They stated in July 2012 that Devon and Cornwall Police, "may not be able to provide a sufficiently efficient or effective service for the public in the future." Nowhere is this failure more evident than over the drugs issue.

Serious drugs hotspots like Bodmin, Newquay and North Devon seem unaffected by the opium shortage in Afghanistan that has caused heroin prices to rocket following this year's poor poppy harvest. Should we care? Yes we should. Figures about to be released by the Anti Social Behaviour Team show a significant increase in littering with drug paraphernalia, an indication of increasing levels of drug abuse in the South West.

There are pockets in the South West that have the highest numbers of registered heroin users in the country on a per capita basis. Heroin withdrawal produces aggressive behaviour in an addict. And so many addicts are desperate to kick the habit. Yet Rehab provision in Devon and Cornwall is grossly inadequate. Your best bet is to get arrested if you want to dry out. And then you have to cope with the vagaries of our prison system where drugs are often readily available.

Now let's be clear about this before we go further - there is an argument for the decriminalisation of drugs. Note the distinction. Not legalisation. Pushers would still be arrested but users would not be pursued and drugs abuse would be treated more as an illness than a crime. The new Police and Crime Commissioner has the power to set police targets and could de-facto decriminalise drugs use whilst still pursuing drug dealers. This would not be my way even though it has much to commend it. All the same, the drugs issue is one I intend to examine most carefully if elected.

Decriminalisation is the path Portugal has trod in recent years with good effect. Furthermore the reality is that at present the policy of the Devon and Cornwall Police Force, like most in the country, is to ignore the users and pursue the pushers. The Portuguese model is the model that is being followed in all but name.

The drugs issues affects us all. Unquestionably society would be better off without drugs and their decimating effect. We need strategies, effective strategies, that work to that end.

One thing is clear: Detox provision is grossly inadequate in the West Country. Rehabilitation provision which follows Detox is equally inadequate.

As a former prison visitor, I have visited many criminals in for violent crime. Countless times I have talked with men whose crimes were committed whilst tanked up on alcohol or in need of drugs. And not once have I met a prisoner in for a violent crime that was not drugs or alcohol related. Is my experience that of others? Yes. I asked representatives of the Cornwall and Devon Probation Service their opinion last week and one of their officers claimed that 70% of all crime in Devon and Cornwall is drugs or (more commonly) alcohol related. That claim seems a little high but the link is clearly very real.

The drugs issue is not the same as the alcohol issue - and much needs doing about the disorderly behaviour that results from alcohol abuse (an issue I will address in a subsequent blog). But the drugs issue is paramount. And drugs in every shape and form are damaging, even cannabis, which dulls the mind and makes its regular users slow witted. Cannabis-induced psychosis (kids becoming mentally ill through overuse of "skunk") is also a problem. More importantly, over time, cannabis users become users of Class A and Class B drugs and their lives are destroyed.

Drugs abuse is not worse than alcohol abuse. But it has its unique dangers and our society must be far more vigilant.

Drug addicts, like all addicts, evangelise for their predilection. The consequent pressure on our children is not to be born. Drugs like cannabis are all too readilly available to secondary school pupils in Devon and Cornwall, and more dangerous drugs are far from difficult to find. Our children deserve a better world. They look to us for their protection. We should not and must not be found wanting. Is zero tolerance of drugs use the answer? There are plenty of places with a zero tolerance policy. East Texas for instance. It works well but it would be a step too far for Devon and Cornwall at this time. I will introduce local police targets for each of Devon and Cornwall's six policing areas. If we fail to bring down levels of drug use in Devon and Cornwall in the first year of my tenure as Police Commissioner (and the presence of littered drug paraphenalia is the indicator I shall use on the crime statistics) then I will introduce a zero tollerance policy in that area in which drug use is worse. By zero tollerance I mean arrest for users carrying drugs outside their homes (a policy not generally applied at present). Zero tollerance policies are difficult for the police because of levels of paperwork involved in each arrest which is why this will be a targeted policy.

What is certain is that people who want to get off drugs should be helped to do so. I pledge to do all in my power to work with the local authorities to increase detox and rehab provision in the West Country (both inside and outside prison) if elected and to make that a top priority. I make an absolute commitment to dramatically increase provision for home detox where appropriate.