Drug-Related Crime

Dr. Kumar
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of recorded crime in (a) Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East and (b) all English police forces was drug related in each year since 1996. [112723]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth
Recorded crime figures do not include details of whether drugs are an aggravating factor in offences, for example for burglary or robbery. Information on the number of recorded drug offences are available only at police force level. This information is not published at Basic Command Unit, or Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership level.Percentages of drug offences recorded for the 39 police force areas in England are given in the following table.
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|Police force area           |
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|Avon and Somerset           |
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|Bedfordshire                |
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|Cambridgeshire              |
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|Cheshire                    |
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|Cleveland                   |
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|Cumbria                     |
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|Derbyshire                  |
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|Devon and Cornwall          |
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|Dorset                      |
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|Durham                      |
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|Essex                       |
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|Gloucestershire             |
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|Greater Manchester          |
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|Hampshire                   |
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|Hertfordshire               |
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|Humberside                  |
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|Kent                        |
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|Lancashire                  |
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|Leicestershire              |
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|Lincolnshire                |
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|City of London              |
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|Merseyside                  |
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|Metropolitan Police District|
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|Norfolk                     |
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|Northamptonshire            |
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|Northumbria                 |
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|North Yorkshire             |
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|Nottinghamshire             |
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|South Yorkshire             |
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|Staffordshire               |
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|Suffolk                     |
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|Surrey                      |
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|Sussex                      |
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|Thames Valley               |
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|Warwickshire                |
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|West Mercia                 |
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|West Midlands               |
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|West Yorkshire              |
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|Wiltshire                   |
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|England total               |
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Note:

Prior to April 1998, the only drug offences recorded were 'Trafficking in controlled drugs', which were recorded within the Other Offences Group. After this date, the Home Office Counting Rules were revised and expanded to include the further drug offences of 'Possession of controlled drugs and 'Other drug offences'.

There was a change in counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998, which would have the tendency to increase the number of offences counted. Prior to April 1998, the only drug offences recorded were 'Trafficking in controlled drugs', which were recorded within the Other Offences Group. After this date the Home Office Counting Rules were revised and expanded to include the additional drug categories of 'Possession of controlled drugs', and 'Other drug offences'. Numbers of offences for years before and after this date, and figures calculated from them, are therefore not directly comparable.

As a result of some police forces adopting the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) prior to its national introduction across England and Wales on 1 April 2002, percentages given for 2000–01 or 2001–02 may not be comparable with other years.