Extracts from Commons debate on Drugs Policy - July 18
Wednesday, 19 July 2017 07:29
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department
(Sarah Newton):...We want to ensure that law enforcement has all
the tools it needs. The Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 has had a
positive impact, and hundreds of retailers across the United
Kingdom have closed down or are no longer selling psychoactive
substances. The police have arrested suppliers, and action by
the National Crime Agency has resulted in the removal of
psychoactive substances from sale by UK-based...Request free trial
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the
Home Department (Sarah Newton):...We want to ensure that
law enforcement has all the tools it needs. The Psychoactive
Substances Act 2016 has had a positive impact, and hundreds of
retailers across the United Kingdom have closed down or are no
longer selling psychoactive substances. The police have arrested
suppliers, and action by the National Crime Agency has resulted in
the removal of psychoactive substances from sale by UK-based
websites. The first offenders have been jailed, and we are seeing
the police use their new powers, with more people going through the
criminal justice system...
...Tough enforcement is also a fundamental part of our drug
strategy and we will continue to bear down on those who seek to
benefit from the misery caused to others. We will take a smarter
approach to restricting the supply of drugs, adapting our approach
to reflect changes in criminal activity. For example, we have taken
action to close down the mobile phone lines being used for drug
dealing and other dreadful exploitation such as the trafficking of
young people to sell drugs. Those mobile phone lines will be closed
down. We will also use innovative data and technology to disrupt
supply over the darknet. Our Serious Organised Crime Agency and the
National Crime Agency have a very important role to play...
(Sheffield, Heeley)
(Lab):...There are several other important evidence gaps
in the drugs strategy. The Government clearly do not have a firm
grip on what is happening to the supply of drugs, on how much and
what types of drugs are being imported, on how much and what types
of drugs are being produced domestically or on the distribution
chains. That important data mapping might be easier if the
Government had not cut 1,000 Border Force guards and more than
20,000 police officers over the past seven years. Nevertheless,
this remains an important task in the fight against illicit drugs
and organised crime. The National Crime Agency should be tasked with
providing the data on supply—of course, it also needs to be given
the resources to do so...
To read the whole debate, CLICK
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