To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the level of acquisitive crime associated with drug addiction in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. (247098)

No annual estimates are made of the levels of acquisitive crime associated with drug addiction.

It is estimated that between a third and half of acquisitive crime is drug related. More recent government survey data points to the extent of acquisitive crime that is drug-related. For example, Home Office research has found that:

81 per cent. of arrestees who used heroin and/or crack cocaine (HC) on at least a weekly basis reported committing acquisitive crimes in the 12 months prior to arrest, in comparison to only 30 per cent. of those arrestees who did not take HC weekly.

Source:

Table 5.4 Home Office Statistical Bulletin 12/07.

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/hosb1207.pdf

Around two-fifths (39 per cent.) of drug treatment seekers reported committing an acquisitive crime in the four weeks prior to interview. This figure rose in the case of heroin and crack cocaine users, with 55 per cent. reporting that they committed an acquisitive crime in the four weeks before interview.

Source:

Home Office Research Report 3.

http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/horr03b.pdf