Drug crimes rose by a third during lockdown

Drug crimes in England rose by a third during lockdown, recent data released by the Office for National Statistics has shown.

Compared to the same period last year, figures from April to June 2020 show a 30% increase.

However, they also demonstrate that theft and robbery crimes fell by 43% during the lockdown months, with overall crime down by 4%.

Bill Gazard, from the ONS Centre for Crime and Justice, said decreases in crime levels were mainly driven by lockdown restrictions and “changes in society.”

“There are indications that crime levels in June were moving back towards pre-lockdown levels,” he added.

He said the rise in drug crime reflected “proactive police activity as overall crime levels reduced”.

Lockdown measures also saw an increase in the price of drugs, as many dealers were forced to alter or stop their trade all together because of increased police activity on the UK’s streets.

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