This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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War on drugs to continue
30/06/2003
On the day the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency
published its annual report showing record seizures of
drugs, The Executive is promising that there will be no let
up in efforts to win the war on drugs.
Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said that paramount in
that fight was getting kingpin drugs and drug dealers off
the streets of Scotland.
Welcoming the successes of the SDEA in the past year -
including a near four-fold increase in the weight of Class
A drug seizures and a 22% increase in arrests as a result
of SDEA activities - Ms Jamieson added:
"Drugs misuse is one of the most serious problems facing
Scotland. It destroys lives and it destroys communities.
That is why our Partnership Agreement stresses the need -
and our commitment - to reduce drug related crime.
"Tackling the scourge of drug misuses requires concerted
action on a number of fronts. Our drugs strategy covers
prevention, education, treatment and care, and balances
enforcement measures with action to reduce demand. We are
also committed to extending the availability of Drug
Treatment and Testing Orders and other community
penalties.
"We are supporting better drug education for children,
police action to target the dealers, help for many more
drug misusers to beat their addiction and new ideas like
drug courts which tackle the link between drugs and
crime.
"But preventing drugs getting on to our streets in the
first place stops the drug dealer menace in his tracks.
That is why I am delighted to see the record seizures
reported by the SDEA. Every gram taken from the dealer's
grasp is one less gram causing misery in our
communities.
"The performance of the SDEA is improving year on year
and the Executive will continue to support and expand the
Agency - because we must build on what works.
"Rightly we are targeting the 'kingpins' of the drugs
world, those who are making the greatest profit at the
expense of our citizens and at huge cost to our
communities. Thanks to our police, our prosecution service
and the courts, serious criminals like drug dealers are
doing serious time for their serious crimes.
"We are providing record numbers of police and record
resources for drugs enforcement. The SDEA are making real
progressrecord seizures of Class A and Class B drugs.
Together we are tackling the scourge of drugs in our
communities."
The Executive established the SDEA in June 2000.
The Executive is committed to a series of actions to
deal with the problems that drug misuse cause,
including:
- The Safer Scotland
Know the Score communications strategy, with
the core message that all drugs are potentially
dangerous
- Piloting Drug Courts to deal with the cycle of drug
related offending and give offenders an opportunity to
change the direction of their lives
- Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs) which aim
to reduce the amount of crime committed to fund drug
misuse, and reduce drugs misuse itself