Data collected centrally on recorded crime do not identify whether offences are drug related. The recorded crime statistics do include the number of specific drug offences recorded by the police and the available information is given in the tables.
Statistics for Jarrow constituency are not available centrally and figures for South Tyneside relate to the South Tyneside Community Safety Partnership area.
The increase in recorded drug offences in recent years has been largely associated with the increased use of police powers to issue cannabis warnings.
Number of offences Offence 1997 South Tyneside CSP n/a North East Region 1,076 England and Wales 23,153 n/a = Not available. 1 Trafficking in controlled drugs only.
Number of offences Offence 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 South Tyneside CSP n/a n/a 383 509 North East Region 6,442 6,460 6,424 7,230 England and Wales 135,945 121,866 113,458 121,393 n/a = Not available. 1 The coverage was extended and counting rules revised from 1998-99. Figures from that date are not directly comparable with those for 1997. 2 The data in this table are prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years.
Number of offences Offence 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 South Tyneside CSP 690 672 692 739 665 680 648 North East Region 9,014 7,987 7,149 8,280 8,447 8,195 9,129 England and Wales2 143,320 143,511 145,837 178,479 194,233 229,881 243,406 1 The data in this table take account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years. 2 Includes British Transport Police from 2002-03 onwards.