MP, Labour’s Shadow Home
Secretary, responding to the publication of the Government’s
drugs strategy, said:
“Action on drugs and crime is long, long overdue as the
Government has allowed serious problems to grow over the last few
years. Class A drug use has increased by 27% since 2010,
drug-related deaths were the highest since records began last
year, and the number of children referred as suspected victims of
county lines has increased by more than 30% since 2019.
Meanwhile, more than £100m has been cut from treatment services,
and cuts to policing budgets have meant that specialist drug
enforcement teams have taken a backseat, allowing gangs to grow,
dealing to increase and demand to soar.
“Ministers need to set out a plan which properly reverses the
damage the Government has done, which stops communities being
blighted by criminal drug dealing and gangs and which properly
addresses the new and serious drug related problems that are
emerging. We need action to tackle changing patterns of
drug-related crime, including the huge growth in child
exploitation and the explosion in online criminal drug networks.
“Too often the Government makes grand promises, but then fails to
deliver or does the opposite. Drug use is up, serious violence is
up, anti-social behaviour is up. More and more offenders are
getting away with their crimes as overall prosecutions have
plummeted. Any action from the Government must be substantial
enough to undo the damage they have caused.”
