ANTI-DRUGS PROJECTS UNVEILED

Much Of The Funding Will Go To Local Anti-drugs Measures

The government is unveiling the details of a major new initiative to tackle
drugs, using the ?220m earmarked in the Budget last month.

Over the next three years the cash will be spent on creating a network of
regional projects to fight drug dealing and drug-related crime.

The Chancellor Gordon Brown will announce that each of the 376 crime and
disorder reduction partnerships in England and Wales will get up to ?1m to
spend on crime-fighting in local areas.

There will also be money for a high-profile national campaign to encourage
young people to keep away from drugs - backed by role models such as sports
stars.

Neighbourhood focus

About ?50m will be allocated to drug testing programmes and another ?5m to
a project called Positive Futures, which aims an anti-drugs message at
10-16 year olds.

Top figures from the world of sport including Manchester United's manager
Sir Alex Ferguson and England striker Andy Cole have agreed to get involved
in promoting the scheme.

The government is committed to channelling money into fighting drugs at a
local level - "neighbourhood by neighbourhood" is how Mr Brown termed it in
his Budget speech.

Among the likely initiatives to receive the funding are police operations
that target specific drug problems such as Scotland Yard's current clamp
down on crack cocaine houses in London.

Other schemes include mobile police stations in rural areas where there are
drug problems and centres for education of former and recovering drugs abusers.

Crime targets

Earlier this year, drugs tsar Keith Hellawell announced that every council
in the country would appoint its own anti-drugs chief to tackle local problems.

Reducing drug abuse is essential if the government is to achieve its
targets on significantly cutting crime - the cost of crime carried out to
fund drug habits is estimated as ?2.5bn every year.

Home Office figures published in February showed that 12,250 suspected
offenders are arrested every week who have taken heroin cocaine or crack in
the previous 48 hours.

And an independent study estimated that half of criminals entering prison
had a serious drugs problem.