12 commit drug crimes in Shropshire each week - but police insist they are winning the battle

Telford, Shrewsbury town centre and Oswestry recorded the highest figures for crimes relating to illegal substances in the past three years.

But figures today obtained by the Shropshire Star show no town in the county is immune from the problem with drugs.

A total of 1,801 people came into contact with officers for drug crime between 2012 and 2014 – which is equivalent to nearly 12 persons a week. Almost half of these offences took place in Telford & Wrekin.

But, following a number of police operations, the numbers have decreased since 2012 when 640 drug-related incidents were recorded, compared to 526 last year.There were 888 drug offences recorded in the borough between 2012 and 2014, and 913 across the rest of Shropshire.

The figures show that there were 1,801 people across the entire county who came into contact with officers for drug crime between the same time frame.

But the numbers recorded have gone down in recent years.

In 2012, there were 360 drug offences recorded by police in Shropshire, in 2013 there were 294 and last year a total of 259.

In Telford & Wrekin, there were 360 in 2012, 294 in 2013 and 259 in 2014.

These included possession or trafficking of illegal controlled substances – and the outcomes range from a charge, reprimand, summons, warning or in some cases no action at all due to a lack of evidence.

This year has seen a huge crackdown on drug abuse and supply in the county with a number of dawn raids, dozens of arrests and high-profile drug operations detected.

Drugs from cocaine to cannabis were seized as well as substance paraphernalia and cash from addresses in raids across the county in this year alone.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Davies of West Mercia Police said the fight would continue.

He added: "West Mercia Police is committed to targeting illegal drug use throughout the communities we serve. It is our priority to protect people from harm and bring offenders to justice and tackling the use and supply of drugs significantly helps us to achieve this.

"We work closely with our partner organisations, including schools, local authorities and the health service, to address drug issues and people should be in no doubt that we will act on information passed on to us."

The outcomes for possession or trafficking of illegal Class B and Class A controlled substances varied from a charge, reprimand, summons, warning or in some cases no action at all due to a lack of evidence.

In Telford & Wrekin, Donnington, Madeley and Malinsgate Police Station were the locations with the highest number of recorded drug offences.

While in Shropshire, Shrewsbury and Oswestry hit the top of the list.

He also urged caution over the figures as any drugs discovered during cell searches were then put on record as the station being the location.

For instance, Malinsgate Police Station noted 336 drug related crimes in the past three years.

Ms Cleland added: "Telford, Oswestry and Shrewsbury are obviously major population centres so we expect to see higher numbers there.

"We would encourage people who have information about the supply of drugs to contact us."

Speaking after a series of raids in Telford this year, Constable Nikki Scott, of the Donnington Safer Neighbourhood Team

She said: "We would like to thank residents of Donnington and Trench for their support in tackling the fight against drugs which brings so much harm."

John Prockter, manager of the Bridge Youth Centre in Bridgnorth, said a culture of binge drinking and drug taking played a role in substance abuse by those aged 18 to 25.

He said: "My feeling from a community youth work point of view is that we have a high proportion of young people who are not launching into adult life effectively.

"There is a high population of 18 to 25 year-olds who are struggling to succeed and as a youth worker I find that it is many are smoking cannabis and taking drugs — and there seems to be a link between these young people and those who don't work or don't work many hours, are not in training or education and are hanging around with young people."

• Anyone with information about drug crimes should call101 or the Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111. Information on drug abuse is available by calling 0300 123 6600.