HC Deb 24 October 1985 vol 84 cc408-10
2. Mr. Hirst

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers are currently employed in drug enforcement duties; and if he will make a statement.

The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Douglas Hurd)

On 1 January there were 630 police officers in England and Wales assigned full time to force drug squads, and in many forces increases have been made since then. Regional crime squads also devote much of their time to drugs investigations. My right hon. and learned Friend, the then Home Secretary, announced on 18 July substantial new measures, including provision for some 200 additional officers, to strengthen the drugs wings of regional crime squads.

Mr. Hirst

I thank my right hon. Friend for his reply. I welcome the Government's initiatives in recent months to step up the war against drug pedlars, but does he agree that the drugs problem is far more serious than many people realise? Can he assure me that an appropriate number of police officers will be put on to drug enforcement duties, whatever the cost, and that they will not be taken from other pressing areas of police work?

Mr. Hurd

The announcements that my predecessor made, and what I said about the Metropolitan police on Monday, show that that is being given priority. That also applies to Scotland.

Mr. Nellist

Given the prominence of the question of drug abuse at the Tory party conference, why are there 1,000 fewer Customs officials now than some years ago? Does the Home Secretary agree with the views of the vice chairman of the Coventry, South-East Tory party, Mr. Jon Farmer, who said: Drug addiction is a self-inflicted wound, so why should we worry if they die or not? After all, the cost of a coffin is less than the cost of putting these characters right."? Is that the Tory solution to drug abuse?

Mr. Hurd

No, Sir. On the first point, the hon. Gentleman is introducing into his figures people who have nothing to do with drugs. Within the Customs and Excise there has been an increasing concentration of experts dealing specifically with drugs. My hon. Friend the Minister this month announced a further increase of 150 preventive staff.

It is worth informing the House that last year 360 kilos of herion were seized, 50 per cent. more than in 1983, and almost as much as in the whole of the United States. That shows the increasing success of our current effort.

Mr. Colvin

During the course of their drug enforcement duties, police officers frequently visit public houses. Has my right hon. Friend seen the brief prepared jointly by the Brewers' Society, the National Union of Licensed Victuallers and the National Association of Licensed House Managers on the subject of drug abuse, which shows the responsible way in which the licensed trade is responding to the problems of drug abuse and helping the police with their duties?

Mr. Hurd

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. I have seen the initiative, and I welcome it because—as they say in their message to all licensees—pubs, bars and similar premises can easily become vulnerable targets for this evil trade.

Mr. Alex Carlile

Is the Home Secretary wholly satisfied with the efforts being made by Customs and Excise to assist the police in the detection of the importation of drugs? If not, what further steps will he take?

Will the right hon. Gentleman tell the House that it is the Government's intention to shift the burden of proof so that those who are arrested for the possession of large quantities of drugs, and who have substantial assets, will have to persuade the courts that those assets were not obtained from the sale of drugs?

Mr. Hurd

On the hon. and learned Gentleman's first point, one can never be wholly satisfied about these matters. On 18 July my predecessor announced that Mr. Hewitt had been appointed as national drugs intelligence co-ordinator to pull together the efforts being made. He has already started work.

On the second point, the hon. and learned Gentleman had better await the publication of the Bill that we shall soon be producing on this subject.

Mr. Budgen

Can my right hon. Friend confirm that the principle of community policing does not mean that in areas such as Handsworth the police can turn a blind eye to the possession of soft drugs?

Mr. Hurd

If my hon. Friend had had the advantage of listening to me last night—and had he been able to hear what I was saying—he would have heard me deal with the subject. I agree with him that community policing is not a synonym for the absence of law enforcement.

Mr. Soley

To alleviate the pressure on the police, will the Home Secretary give a clear guarantee to the House that the mobile task forces in Customs and Excise that deal with drug smuggling will not be stood down because of the cash restrictions that are likely to be placed upon them?

Mr. Hurd

I am sure that they will not be, but, if the hon. Gentleman wishes to pursue that matter, he should do so with the Minister responsible for Customs and Excise.

Mr. Michael Marshall

Does my right hon. Friend agree that, in addition to the numbers that he has quoted today, the task of handling the problem falls on the whole of the police force? Does he accept that that increased responsibility must be seen in the context of other growing tasks for the police under, for example, the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and the Transport Acts? Will he bear that in mind when reviews on the manning of police forces come to his attention in the coming months?

Mr. Hurd

My hon. Friend is quite right. Unfortunately, there is a link between drug trafficking and other sorts of crime, for reasons which we all know. That is one reason why the police are giving the matter such priority, and why we give it priority when we allocate resources.