1:00pm Tuesday 17th November 2009
By Ben Parsons, Crime Reporter
Drug addicts committing crime to feed their habits have cost society an estimated £17 million over the last four years.
The figure was announced as senior officers prepared to showcase Brighton and Hove’s drugs strategy at a nationwide conference this week.
In total the criminals snared by Operation Reduction have been convicted of 14,100 crimea since it was launched in 2005.
Sussex Police believes the operation saves £3 for every £1 it costs to run.
The strategy aims to stop crimes like burglary, theft and car break-ins by targeting class-A drug users, mostly heroin addicts, and low-level dealers.
Police try to channel people who commit crime to pay for their drug addictions into treatment and put the pushers who prey on them behind bars.
According to Sussex Police, 464 people have been arrested under Operation Reduction since its launch and 359 of those referred into drug treatment programmes.
In total, those criminals have convictions for 14,100 offences, including 1,088 violent crimes estimated to have cost society £14.3 million.
In addition, 1,195 burglaries have cost £2.1m and 684 car crimes £499,000.
Other convictions include 1,066 for public order offences like criminal damage and being drunk and disorderly, 906 drugs offences and 2,851 shoplifting convictions.
The “social cost” of crime is calculated using Home Office estimates to include the costs of loss of or damage to property, treatment for injury, loss of productivity by the business or worker who falls victim, investigating a crime, bringing a prosecution, prison and probation supervision, and compensation.
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