§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a table showing, for each police force area in England and Wales, the number of notifiable drug offences in(a) 1979–80, (b) 1985–86, i(c) 1990–91 and (d) 1991–92 and the percentage increase between 1979–80 and 1991–92, between 1985–86 and 1991–92 and between 1990–91 and 1991–92.
§ Mr. Jack[holding answer 19 November 1992]: The figures given in the tables are for offences of trafficking in controlled drugs which is the only drug-related offence which is notifiable. These figures were not collected separately until 1983 so it is not possible to provide any information for earlier years.
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Notifiable offences of trafficking in controlled drugs recorded by the police by police force area Number of offences and percentage change Police force area April 1990 to March 1991 April 1991 to March 1992 Percentage change Avon and Somerset 257 278 8 Bedfordshire 48 55 15 Cambridgeshire 110 81 -26 Cheshire 251 310 24 Cleveland 73 76 4 Cumbria 65 143 120 Derbyshire 98 153 56 Devon and Cornwall 175 233 33 Dorset 188 197 5 Durham 78 72 -8 Essex 247 241 -2 Gloucestershire 64 200 213 Greater Manchester 746 925 24 Hampshire 327 405 24 Hertfordshire 156 180 15 Humberside 146 248 70 Kent 479 631 32 Lancashire 357 377 6 Leicestershire 39 80 105 Lincolnshire 116 137 18 City of London 18 15 -17 Merseyside 498 498 — Metropolitan Police District 2,174 2,178 — Norfolk 168 235 40 Northamptonshire 81 103 27 Northumbria 142 185 30 North Yorkshire 131 105 -20 Nottinghamshire 90 116 29 South Yorkshire 165 272 65 Staffordshire 79 123 56 Suffolk 265 256 -3 Surrey 135 97 -28 Sussex 487 542 11 Thames Valley 244 331 36 Warwickshire 71 86 21 West Mercia 145 173 19 West Midlands 284 302 6 West Yorkshire 466 916 97 Wiltshire 71 81 14 Dyfed-Powys 90 111 23 Gwent 103 92 —11 North Wales 114 137 20 South Wales 238 278 17
Police force area April 1990 to March 1991 April 1991 to March 1992 Percentage change England and Wales 10,279 12,254 19
Notifiable offences of trafficking in controlled drugs recorded by the police by police force area Number of offences and percentage change Police force area April 1985 to March 1986 April 1991 to March 1992 Percentage change Avon and Somerset 286 278 -3 Bedfordshire 39 55 41 Cambridgeshire 80 81 1 Cheshire 240 310 29 Cleveland 33 76 130 Cumbria 89 143 61 Derbyshire 58 153 164 Devon and Cornwall 339 233 -31 Dorset 218 197 -10 Durham 29 72 148 Essex 193 241 25 Gloucestershire 191 200 5 Greater Manchester 360 925 157 Hampshire 232 405 75 Hertfordshire 165 180 9 Humberside 100 248 148 Kent 361 631 75 Lancashire 183 377 106 Leicestershire 55 80 45 Lincolnshire 17 137 706 City of London 3 15 400 Merseyside 264 498 89 Metropolitan Police District 2,112 2,178 3 Norfolk 101 235 133 Northamptonshire 49 103 110 Northumbria 82 185 126 North Yorkshire 55 105 91 Nottinghamshire 110 116 5 South Yorkshire 117 272 132 Staffordshire 65 123 89 Suffolk 86 256 198 Surrey 86 97 13 Sussex 328 542 65 Thames Valley 174 331 90 Warwickshire 15 86 473 West Mercia 97 173 78 West Midlands 219 302 38 West Yorkshire 135 916 579 Wiltshire 54 81 50 Dyfed-Powys 100 111 11 Gwent 55 92 67 North Wales 96 137 43 South Wales 158 278 76 Total England and Wales 7,829 12,254 57