Pubdate: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 Source: Observer, The (UK) Copyright: 2002 The Observer Contact: http://www.observer.co.uk/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/315 Author: Kamal Ahmed and Tony Thompson, The Observer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) CRACK EPIDEMIC FEARS AS ARRESTS RISE BY 200 PC Trafficking and possession of crack cocaine in Britain have risen by more than 200 per cent over the past three years, raising fears of an epidemic. Police figures to be presented at a government-convened 'crack summit' tomorrow will reveal rapid increases in the use of the drug in major cities. As police demand new powers to detain suspected dealers indefinitely, Bob Ainsworth, the Home Office Minister with responsibility for drugs, will admit that the problem could engulf some communities. Two police forces with big problems with the drug - the Metropolitan, which covers London, and Avon and Somerset, which covers Bristol, have been invited to the conference in Birmingham. The Met will present figures showing that recorded offences for trafficking crack have risen from 493 in the year to March 2000 to 1,117 in the year to March 2002. At the same time the number of recorded offences of possession has risen from 713 to 829. Avon and Somerset Police will say the total weight of seizures of crack cocaine between 1999 and 2002 rose from 761 kilos to 2,212 kilos. Michael Fuller, deputy assistant commissioner at the Met, and head of the force's drugs directorate, said: 'Crack cocaine has had a negative impact on the lives of many Londoners, causes most harm to the capital's communities and is behind much of the gun-related violence.' The National Treatment Agency, the Government body charged with implementing policies to help people off drugs, admitted crack was a growing problem, par ticularly in London, Liverpool and Manchester. The agency plans to launch a new treatment programme for addicts this year. Chief Superintendent Brian Moore, acting borough commander of Lambeth, says the police must be able to detain suspects who are believed to have swallowed crack cocaine. Dealers carry rocks of crack in their mouths - up to 30 at a time. Under existing regulations, the police are unable to charge people because they cannot produce the drugs. Officers are often left grappling with suspected dealers to try to stop them swallowing the drug. 'When you walk through an airport you don't see customs officers rolling around on the floor struggling with people, yet they deal with people who swallow drugs every day,' Moore said. 'That's because they have the power to detain people until the drugs pass through their systems.' - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager