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Drugs: Crime

Volume 497: debated on Tuesday 13 October 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of those brought into a police station tested positively for class A drugs in 2008-09; and how many offenders entered treatment voluntarily through the Drug Intervention Programme in that year. (290975)

[holding answer 14 September 2009]: Under the Drug Interventions Programme (DIP), drug-testing of offenders for specified class A drugs (heroin and cocaine/crack) in police custody takes place in 107 BCUs. Offenders arrested or charged with a “trigger offence”—largely acquisitive crime related offences—are required to provide a sample to be tested. In 2008-09, 34 per cent. of those drug-tested while in police custody tested positively for class A drugs.

All treatment takes place with consent and therefore is entered voluntarily.

DIP identifies drug misusers through a positive drug test, as well as through referral in the community and prison. The number of adults commencing treatment through DIP in 2008-09 was 57,951.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make an estimate of the number of people who have been (a) arrested and (b) charged in respect of offences committed while they were taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in each of the last five years. (291487)

The information requested is not available as it is not possible to separately identify people who have been arrested and charged in respect of offences committed while they were taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.