CRIMES 'HALVED' WHEN ADDICTS GET TREATMENT

Research published today shows that heroin and crack cocaine addicts
receiving drug treatment commit fewer crimes to feed their habit.

The Manchester University study, based on data from the police
national computer, shows that the number of offences committed by
addicts - such as theft - fell by almost half once they had entered
drug treatment programmes.

The research results were based on 1,500 heroin and crack cocaine
users who had recently been convicted and sentenced to undergo
rehabilitation treatment in the community rather than jailed.

The study found that the total number of crimes for which they were
charged in the year following the start of treatment fell from 4,381
to 2,348. The biggest category of theft fell from 1,234 to 635. The
highest proportion of crimes committed while they were in treatment
were for breaching a previous sentence.

Reductions in crime were consistent across the board. Violence more
than halved, as did offences of fraud, drug possession and prostitution.

Paul Hayes, of the National Treatment Agency, which funded the study,
said: "While this confirms the value of using substitute prescribing
. to stabilise drug users, it also shows crime is cut rather than
eradicated. This reinforces the need for drug workers to go further
and do more to actively get users off drugs and reintegrated into society."