Police chief calls for drugs policy debate
A police chief has said it is time for a "sensible debate" about drug policy, saying too much is being spent on tackling the problem.
Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) David Jamieson said heroin and cocaine alone is estimated to be costing the West Midlands economy £1.4 billion each year.
The Labour PCC said there needed to be a "sensible debate about the future of drug policy, with a focus on pragmatic solutions", though he did not expand on what he would like to see happen.
Mr Jamieson also called for the Proceeds of Crime Act to be reformed to ensure police forces are given a greater share of the money seized from criminals, rather than being retained by Home Office.
The police chief's comments came ahead of the Government's Drugs Summit on Thuursday.
He said: “For too long, the debate around drugs has not focused on what we really need, which is to reduce harm, reduce deaths and save the taxpayer money.
“A person dies from drug poisoning every three days in the West Midlands, with someone dying every four hours in England. At a huge cost to the taxpayer, the cost of each chaotic drug user to the taxpayer is over £60,000 each year. The total cost to just the West Midlands economy is estimated to be £1.4 billion – this is staggering and we can very easily reduce this cost.
“First we need to come to a position where talking about drug policy is not taboo, and we can have an open and honest debate about what has worked and failed in the past and to learn from that."
On the Proceeds of Crime Act, the PCC said: “Currently, police forces only receive a fraction of the money they seize under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), meaning they are spending a lot of time for little gain. An increased return to the force would help undermine the illicit business by creating a funding stream to support those with addiction into recovery.
“Reforming POCA would give police forces a greater incentive to seize the ill-gotten gains of criminals, take away their money and their assets.
“I have, this year, used money from POCA to fund a new unit of financial investigators to seize money from criminals by going after their bank accounts. The money they seize will pay for the running costs of the team and to support those with addiction problems.
"This would particularly help in the fight against high end drug dealers profiting from the misery of others."
