§ 9. Linda Perham (Ilford. North)What assessment he has made of the links between drugs misuse and crime; and what steps are being taken to tackle the problem. [47068]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Bob Ainsworth)Research shows a strong connection between the misuse of heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine and theft and other acquisitive crime, and a consequent high level of local concern about supply and other drug-related activity. Measures to tackle that include the £220 million communities against drugs programme, a range of interventions in the criminal justice system to identify drug misusing offenders and get them into appropriate treatment, and our ongoing efforts to disrupt the supply of those drugs.
§ Linda PerhamI thank my hon. Friend for that answer. My local court, Redbridge magistrates court, which is one of the most effective and efficient in the country, is concerned about the suitability of drug treatment and testing orders for less serious offenders, including young and first-time offenders. Are there any sentencing measures that my hon. Friend can introduce to cope with those offenders?
§ Mr. AinsworthWe recognise and accept that drug treatment and testing orders are not suitable in every circumstance, and that is why we introduced drug abstinence orders and requirements. With regard to young people, it is our view that magistrates" ability to make various attachments to supervisory orders is sufficiently comprehensive. Youth offending teams have the funding to ensure that all young offenders are assessed for drug misuse, so they are able to access appropriate treatment where it is available and as outlined by the drug action teams. However, if specific concerns are being raised by my hon. Friend's local magistrates, we should of course be prepared to listen to those. I should be more than happy to receive further representations from her about the gap in provision perceived by magistrates in her constituency.
§ Sir Patrick Cormack (South Staffordshire)Would I be correct in inferring from the Minister's initial reply that 18 the Government are moving towards the decriminalisation of so-called soft drugs? If that is the case, will the Minister bear it in mind that many people have grave misgivings about such a move?
§ Mr. AinsworthThe hon. Gentleman should not take any such inference from my reply. I was asked what assessment we had made of the clear link between drug misuse and acquisitive crime. All our research shows the clearest link between the three substances that I mentioned—heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine—and such crime.
That does not mean that other drugs are not harmful—they are. It continues to be the Government's intention that those drugs should remain illegal, and that the message that all drugs are harmful should continue to go out. However, if we are to get young people to listen to us, we have to try to differentiate the message so that we can say to them that certain substances are seriously dangerous both to themselves as individuals and to the communities in which they live. Our effort has to be directed towards having the maximum effect on the use of class A drugs.