Border Telegraph | News | Drug crime shame

Friday, 9th May, 2008

Published: Wednesday, 26th March, 2008 09:00

Drug crime shame

By David Knox

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A SURGE in drug crime in both Galashiels and Coldstream is behind the Borders bucking national good news trends.

Throughout almost every policing region in Scotland, drug offending is slowly on the decrease with the number of reported crimes and arrests on the slide.

But the newly revealed hash and heroin hotspots of the Borders have seen local officers face an increased workload.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that Lothian and Borders Police are mainly winning the fight on drugs – with arrests down almost 5 per cent from last year across the entire region.

But in Galashiels, the number of dealers and users has rocketed by more than 20 per cent.

And the town’s claim to shame has sent shockwaves through local organizations attempting to curb the menace.

In the past, many charities and health groups have played down the drug threat in the Scottish Borders – claiming alcohol was a bigger problem.

But in the 10 months from April 2007 to January 2008, officers in and around Galashiels have made 203 arrests in connection with drugs.

The figure for the same period last year was 169.

And in the mid-Berwickshire policing district around Coldstream, the number of arrests has jumped from only nine last year to 58 for the same 10 months of 2007/08.

A police spokeswoman told the Border Telegraph: “These rises are down to local officers taking a robust line after a noticed rise in drug use.

“Galashiels is now the most densely populated town in the Scottish Borders and we take a strong approach to drug use.

“Officers act swiftly on any information received from the public.

“The rise in figures around Berwickshire and the border is down to us

proactively targeting and stopping travelling drug dealers.”

Many policing districts across the Borders’ G Division have seen a decrease in drug offences – Selkirkshire is down from 49 to 38, Kelso District has lowered from 46 to 33, Tweeddale West has fallen from 74 to 49, and both Hawick Hermitage and Hawick Denholm have recorded falls.

While others have shown slight increases – Lauderdale/Melrose up from 8 to 11, Jedburgh offences have climbed from 7 to 13 and Tweeddale East has increased from 17 to 18.

There are several initiatives, including the Drug and Alcohol Action Team, Borders Community Addiction Team, Borders Counselling on Alcohol and Drugs, the Riever Project and the Big River Project, operating throughout the Scottish Borders in a bid to curb drug use.

We were unable to speak to anyone directly from NHS Borders’ Drug and Alcohol Action Team, but a spokeswoman said: “Significant activity has been undertaken by the police to target drug dealers, with encouraging results in terms of increasing arrests and seizures.”

Over the past year around 33,000 prescriptions of methadone have been issued in the Borders as well over 5,500 syringes being distributed as part of a needle exchange programme.

We asked Scottish Borders Council’s social work department to comment on the alarming rise of Galashiels drug offending but they didn’t respond.

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