§ 30. Mr. CorbettTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the proportion of heroin addicts among all those who are arrested. [944]
§ Mr. George HowarthIt is difficult to quantify the proportion of offenders addicted to drugs or dependent on them. The Home Office has a research programme designed to shed further light on the links between drugs and crime. It includes a study of drug use by samples of people arrested by the police in various cities. Preliminary results from this study point to a higher level of drug taking by arrestees than expected. However, the study is still incomplete; the university of Cambridge will be delivering a report to the Home Office in October, which is likely to be published around the end of the year.