Drug crime rose by up to 44 per cent during the coronavirus lockdown in England and Wales compared with the same period last year, official figures show.
According to the Office for National Statistics, drug offences recorded by police rose by 22 per cent in April to 16,570 and 44 per cent in May to 20,687. This is compared with 13,535 and 14,343 for the respective months in 2019.
The ONS report, published on Wednesday, put this down to “proactive police activity in pursuing these crimes during lockdown”.
It said the spike was driven mainly by drugs possession offences with “early indications” suggesting this was “particularly evident in London” where the Metropolitan Police had increased the number of drugs-related stop and searches.
Overall police-recorded crime during lockdown was 25 per cent lower in April and 20 per cent lower in May compared with the same period in 2019. Offences also dropped by five per cent in March compared with February, the report said.
Reports of theft dipped in April and May to “almost half the level recorded” during the same months in the previous year.
However, figures show crime rose again as lockdown restrictions began to ease, it added.
Billy Gazard, from the ONS Centre for Crime and Justice, said: “There was a significant fall in crime at the height of the coronavirus pandemic across England and Wales.
“This was driven by reductions in theft offences, particularly domestic burglary and theft of personal property. As this period coincided with the majority of people spending long periods at home during lockdown, it is not unexpected.”
But he said the “exception was police recording of drug offences, which increased through April and May”, adding: “This reflects proactive police activity as overall crime levels reduced.”
The report offers the first official indication of some police-recorded crime figures since the coronavirus crisis started.
But findings are limited because of difficulties in gathering statistics and some figures are not yet available.
For example, police reports of domestic abuse are recorded quarterly, so official figures during lockdown are yet to be made public.
