Drug offences ramp up in Leicester this year

by Joshua Solomon

The rate of drug crimes in Leicester has been on a steady increase, with the overall crime rate hitting 97 crimes per 1,000 people in 2020.

This year, there were 1,577 drug related crimes committed in Leicester, which was at a percentage of 3.8 crimes per year, according to crimerate.co.uk.

This compares to 2016 where it only accounted for 1.6% of crimes in Leicester and is now the 30th highest crime rate out of 99 England and Wales postcode areas.

Leicester has been steadily getting worse in comparison with Leicestershire, as in every department there is a rise in the rate of crimes.

This year the police in the UK have targeted the ‘ county lines’ issue and the Leicestershire police force have put initiatives in place.

The East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) is one of the largest collaborative policing units in the country, and it’s not just Leicestershire they help to protect.

EMSOU investigates drugs and firearm trafficking, kidnaps, cyber-crime, fraud, money laundering and prison corruption and protects societies’ most vulnerable from modern slavery and human trafficking, and county lines.

The operation was part of a national County Lines Intensification Week (CLIW) (Monday 11 October to Sunday 17 October) which saw police forces up and down the country working with colleagues from a range of other agencies including children’s services, youth services, youth justice, housing providers, Community Safety Partnerships and local Violence Reduction Networks.

In Leicestershire, teams from a range of agencies made 85 safeguarding visits to vulnerable young people.

Chief Inspector Emma Maxwell said: “If you add the results from the national week of action as well then we have had an incredibly successful month tackling county lines criminality across the force area.

“However, our operation is about more than just disrupting the supply lines, we are working with local organisations to get help for those who want it and during the national week of action we made 85 safeguarding visits to vulnerable young people.”