Drug seizures and arrests hit record levels in NI, Audit Office reports

Alcohol related offences accounted for 40% of all violent crimes in Northern Ireland in 2018/2019, more than 14,000 offences, the auditor reported.
By The Newsroom
Published 30th Jun 2020, 06:18 BST
Drug seizure incidents have increased by almost 50% in the five yearsDrug seizure incidents have increased by almost 50% in the five years
Drug seizure incidents have increased by almost 50% in the five years

He also estimates that £224m a year is incurred by the fire and police services dealing with alcohol related callouts and crime, whilst costs to the courts and prison services were estimated to be more than £83mn a year, including the costs of legal aid, public prosecution costs and the costs of prisoners serving custodial sentences for alcohol related crimes.

Drug seizure incidents have increased by almost 50% in the five years to March 2019, with over 7,000 seizures in 2018-19, the highest level ever recorded in Northern Ireland. Drug related arrests have also increased significantly over the last five years.

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Substance misuse also generates a range of cost impacts in the wider economy, the auditor concluded.

He said that over £200m a year of alcohol related costs are incurred by the wider economy, including the costs of absenteeism at work, unemployment and premature mortality due to alcohol related conditions.

The number of drug related deaths has more than tripled from 53 in 2008 to 161 in 2018.

At 30 April 2019, 6,743 people were in treatment for substance misuse. This represents an increase of 21% since 2007 and 13% over the last two years.

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In 2017, 303 of the 16,036 deaths registered in Northern Ireland were due to alcohol related causes, the highest number ever recorded. Whilst this number fell to 284 in 2018, it remains almost 17% more than a decade previously.

The number of alcohol related deaths is consistently higher among men, accounting for almost 70% of the total.