Tag: drugs

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News you won’t hear – treatment orders for drug-dependent offenders imposed since 2019 plummet by half and success rates soar

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By Professor John Robertson OBA The emphasis of a DTTO is on drugs treatment as the primary means of reducing offending behaviour rather than the specific offence focused approach of a probation order. Specifically the objectives of a DTTO are to: • Reduce or eliminate an offender’s dependency or propensity to misuse drugs; • Achieve positive changes in the scale and frequency of drug related offending The Order introduces unique aspects e.g. drug testing and regular court reviews as features of a community disposal. The DTTO is a high tariff, highly invasive community disposal involving social work supervision. The order requires regular … Continue reading News you won’t hear – treatment orders for drug-dependent offenders imposed since 2019 plummet by half and success rates soar

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English County Lines drug dealer jailed for supply in Inverness but it seems it’s not newsworthy here

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In the Strathspey & Badenoch Herald, yesterday, but despite the powerful news values – violence, drugs, death – BBC Scotland, even their Highlands and Islands or NE, Orkney & Shetland teams can find no space for it: A 29-year-old Huyton man has been jailed for three years and nine months for drugs supply offences in Inverness after he was snared by a joint Police Scotland and Merseyside Police operation. Ryan Finlay pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and possession of cannabis through what is called a County Line – a way of transporting illegal narcotics from cities to other … Continue reading English County Lines drug dealer jailed for supply in Inverness but it seems it’s not newsworthy here

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Why Scotland’s headline drug death figures are currently not based on a reliable measure

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Professor John Robertson OBA Media and opposition parties are morbidly determined to hang onto Scotland’s drug death status as a rare apparently objective stick to beat the SNP Government into submission with. Earlier this year, they were all irrepressibly delighted to hear that there was a 12% increase from 2022 to 2023, following disturbing, for them, reductions in each of the two previous years after nearly three decades of satisfyingly climbing figures.1 These National Records of Scotland data are based on post mortem blood tests and commonly presented as more reliable than the Suspected drug deaths in Scotland. The latter are collected … Continue reading Why Scotland’s headline drug death figures are currently not based on a reliable measure

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British Transport Police report on 65 arrests on County Lines drug gang rail network using railways from London, to the end of the line in Thurso, for child drug couriers is not that interesting to BBC Scotland it seems

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Only the Daily Record picked up on this from British Transport Police on 6 December 2024: British Transport Police (BTP) disrupted six County lines, arrested 65 people, and seized in excess of £80,000 in cash during a national County Lines week of action tackling drug supply across England, Scotland and Wales.  The week was coordinated by BTP’s dedicated County Lines Taskforce (CLTF) and the operations featured uniformed and plain clothes officers, dogs trained in passive drug detection and metal detection arches.  As part of the enhanced activity from Monday 25th November – Sunday 1st December during the national County Lines … Continue reading British Transport Police report on 65 arrests on County Lines drug gang rail network using railways from London, to the end of the line in Thurso, for child drug couriers is not that interesting to BBC Scotland it seems

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West Midlands rapper’s ‘County Lines’ drug gang triggering drug deaths spike with deadly additives

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From the Ross-shire Journal, yesterday: County Lines drug gangs reach as far north as Alness, police confirm. THE Highlands are grappling with the grim reality of so-called County Lines drug operations, with 10 separate gangs exploiting vulnerable individuals in its capital city. Police Scotland’s Highlands and Islands Division has identified the growing footprint of organised crime over the past 18 months, with devastating consequences for the community. The criminal networks behind County Lines originate in major cities like Liverpool, London, and the West Midlands, and use a combination of coercion, exploitation, and violence to tighten their grip on the drug trade. … Continue reading West Midlands rapper’s ‘County Lines’ drug gang triggering drug deaths spike with deadly additives

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Extreme violence ‘Turk Line’ drugs gang supplying Glasgow dealers with cheaper more powerful drugs to prevent Scotland’s drug deaths from falling

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From West Midlands Police, yesterday: Five men have been jailed for more than 40 years after we dismantled a Coventry drugs line. Their drug dealing racket, known as the ‘Turk Line’, is believed to have operated across Coventry between December 2022 and August 2023. The gang would use cars to deal drugs from, registering them under the false alias of ‘Florentin Iosif’ at various addresses to avoid journeys used to drop off the drugs ever being linked back to them. Drugs were then often transported in cars registered to ‘Florentin Iosif’ but driven by different members of the group around … Continue reading Extreme violence ‘Turk Line’ drugs gang supplying Glasgow dealers with cheaper more powerful drugs to prevent Scotland’s drug deaths from falling

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Scotland’s slowing drug death rate fall linked to flood of cross-border low-cost, high strength drugs and inadequate police resources in England and Wales

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In the run-up to the July General Election, Labour promised to add 3 000 new officers1 to the current 240 000 in England and Wales2 – a 01.25% increase. This promise was, in part, in response to steadily climbing drug deaths: The rate of drug-poisoning deaths in 2023 (93.0 deaths per million) was double the rate in 2012 (46.5 deaths per million). The rate has increased every year since 2012.3 Why are drug deaths climbing steadily and even accelerating in England & Wales since around 2017? The National Crime Agency first reported on County Lines Drug gangs in 2015 and … Continue reading Scotland’s slowing drug death rate fall linked to flood of cross-border low-cost, high strength drugs and inadequate police resources in England and Wales

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Herald mentions ‘County Lines’ drug gangs for first time in nearly 6 years, avoids saying ‘from England’ and leaves direction of flow unclear

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The Herald yesterday, to everyone here’s surprise, has the above image and Pair jailed in ‘County Lines’ drug operation in Aberdeen – Two men have been jailed after being caught with £10,000 worth of drugs in Aberdeen. Jahvid Frith, 28, and Tyrone Sealey were arrested in February 2023 when police recovered cocaine, heroin and cannabis from a flat in Marischal Court, as well as £2,000 in cash, multiple mobile phones and other items used to co-ordinate drug supply. This is their first time since, in January 2019: Whatever happened to Tony Diver? You’d have thought this narrative with 11 year-old drug … Continue reading Herald mentions ‘County Lines’ drug gangs for first time in nearly 6 years, avoids saying ‘from England’ and leaves direction of flow unclear

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Good news – major fall in annual trends for suspected drug deaths, A&E and hospital admissions

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From Public Health Scotland today: Drug-related data can vary seasonally, so me comparing the same quarter, in this case June-August, gives a more accurate measure of trends. First, on drug deaths: In the latest period (3 June to 25 August 2024), the total number of suspected drug deaths was 225, averaging 19 per week. The total number of deaths was 10% lower than the previous quarter (249), 13% lower than the same period in 2022 (258) and 25% lower than in 2023 (301). A suspected drug death is a death where controlled drugs are suspected of being … Continue reading Good news – major fall in annual trends for suspected drug deaths, A&E and hospital admissions

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Meet the County Lines drug gang who used children to peddle heroin and cocaine from the Midlands but BBC Scotland and the supposedly intelligent press will not tell you about

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From Birmingham Live, today: Drugs are a problem police continue to tackle as dangerous substances remain on our streets. And one way criminals are flooding towns with the likes of heroin and cocaine is through county lines. The system involves drug dealers establishing networks for the supply and distribution of illegal substances usually to towns and rural areas. They are notorious for using young and vulnerable people as a means to do this. The group ran drugs lines known as the AB Line and the Jay Line. Asante ran his criminal business from Wolverhampton and Stafford. He was assisted with … Continue reading Meet the County Lines drug gang who used children to peddle heroin and cocaine from the Midlands but BBC Scotland and the supposedly intelligent press will not tell you about