TORIES PLEDGE UKP500M TO AID YOUNG DRUG ADDICTS

Iain Duncan Smith promised yesterday to spend almost UKP500 million on
rehabilitation for young drug addicts as part of a fundamental shift in
crime policy if the Conservatives win the next election.

The Tory leader said the number of places available in treatment centres
for crack, cocaine and heroin abuse would increase from 2,000 to 20,000,
enough to care for "every young hard drug addict in Britain".

Mr Duncan Smith and Oliver Letwin, the shadow home secretary, used a visit
to Leeds to draw attention to their crime policy, which couples a
commitment to rehabilitation with a pledge to recruit an extra 40,000
police officers.

"Crime is infecting our nation and hard drugs are making the condition even
worse," Mr Duncan Smith said.

"The Conservative Party under my leadership is not going to stand by and
watch as people's lives are ruined by crime and drugs.

"It is a battle we must win because these young people are victims and they
deserve a start to their adult life with a clean slate, clean from drugs.
The point about these two policies is that it's no longer good enough
simply to contain the problem of crime and drugs. We have to set ourselves
the task to defeat them."

Yesterday's pledges on law and order, first made at Tory conference last
year, mark the latest stage in the summer roll-out of policy announcements
designed to give momentum to Mr Duncan Smith's leadership.

The emphasis on tackling demand for hard drugs marks a deliberate shift
away from the battle against suppliers. Mr Letwin said the UKP460 million
cost of providing a rehabilitation place for every addict was the "upper
limit".

He predicted that the figure could be significantly reduced and also
pointed to savings in the health budget through reducing medical costs
incurred by untreated drug addicts.

Mr Letwin also said the extra police numbers could be introduced at a rate
of 5,000 a year. "Overall, crime costs Britain about UKP60 billion a year
and a third of that is linked to cocaine, crack and heroin. We believe that
the fight against crime and the fight against drugs are one and the same
and that they can only be won together. We have to defeat crime and that
means defeating drugs," he said.

But Roger Howard, the chief executive of the charity DrugScope, said the
Tory plans could cost too much. He told BBC's Today programme: "Any
investment in residential rehabilitation for drug treatment is expensive.
Increasing it to 20,000 is a massive increase.

"The costs of the original estimates that the Conservative Party have put
forward seriously underestimated the cost per day," Mr Howard said.

"Their original figures were about UKP147 per patient per day. In fact, for
young people's treatment, the cost is probably over UKP300 per day.

"There are nowhere near enough treatment workers, nurses, doctors and
psychiatrists available to provide the care that these young people will
need. This is a long haul and nobody can expect quick investment to provide
quick results."