Drug Seizures by Scottish Police Forces, 2011-12

2. Commentary

There are two statutory requirements for the UK to provide data on drug seizures, which are managed by the UK Focal Point on Drugs, based at Public Health England. The UK Focal Point on Drugs collate drug seizures statistics from England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and submit the data to the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The minimum data requirements to satisfy these two obligations are to submit data on the number of drug seizures and the quantity of drugs seized for each of the following types of drugs: cocaine, crack, ecstasy-type substances, heroin, LSD, methylamphetamine, amphetamines, herbal cannabis, cannabis resin and cannabis plants. In addition to these ten drugs, this bulletin contains seizures data on methadone, morphine, barbiturates, anabolic steroids, diazepam, GHB, ketamine, temazepam and other benzodiazepines. For the publication of this bulletin, the seizures data for an additional drug, mephedrone, have been included for both 2010-11 and 2011-12, this is due to the increased interest surrounding seizures of mephedrone within the UK.

With only two years of comparable drug seizures data available it is not possible to make any statements about long term trends for both the number of drug seizures and the quantity of drugs seized.

The statistics on drug seizures made by Scottish police forces are used to inform National Outcome 9 - 'we live our lives safe from crime, disorder and danger' as well as The Strategy for Justice in Scotland. These statistics are also used by a wide range of stakeholders to monitor trends, for policy research and development, and for research purposes

2.1 Number of drug seizures (Tables 1, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a and 5b, and Chart 1)

• The total number of drug seizures by Scottish police forces in 2011-12 was 29,509, an increase of 10.5% from the 26,693 seizures made in 2010-11. The distribution of the number of drug seizures made in 2010-11 and 2011-12 can be seen in Chart 1. Please see Note 3.3.1 for further information on how the numbers of seizures are calculated.

2.1.1 Class A drugs (Tables 1, 2a, 2b, 3a and 3b, and Chart 1)

• There were 5,788 seizures involving class A drugs in 2011-12, with 19.6% of all seizures involving at least one class A drug, 3.2 percentage points less than in 2010-11. There has been a decrease of 4.7% in the number of seizures involving class A drugs between 2010-11 and 2011-12, which equates to 286 fewer seizures.
• As was the case in 2010-11 among class A drugs, the highest number of seizures in 2011-12 was for heroin. There were 2,789 seizures of heroin by Scottish police forces in 2011-12, 628 fewer seizures than in 2010-11, a decrease of 18.4%. Within each of the eight Scottish police forces in both 2010-11 and 2011-12, with the exception of Northern Constabulary in both years and Central Scotland Police in 2011-12, heroin was the most seized class A drug. For Northern Constabulary the highest number of class A drug seizures involved cocaine in both 2010-11 and 2011-12. Similarly for Central Scotland Police, the highest number of class A seizures involved cocaine in 2011-12.
• In Scotland, the second most common class A drug seized in both years was cocaine. In 2011-12, 2,037 seizures involved cocaine, one fewer that in 2010-11. Of all the seizures that involved class A drugs in 2011-12, 48.2% involved a seizure of heroin and 35.2% involved a seizure of cocaine. The percentage of class A seizures involving heroin decreased by 8.1 percentage points between 2010-11 and 2011-12, while the percentage involving cocaine increased by 1.6 percentage points.
• The number of seizures involving crack more than doubled from 154 in 2010-11 to 336 in 2011-12. In both 2010-11 and 2011-12 the majority of crack seizures were made by Grampian Police. In 2010-11, just over half of crack seizures were made by Grampian Police with this increasing to two thirds of crack seizures in 2011-12.
• Ecstasy-type substances seizures increased from 269 in 2010-11 to 434 in 2011-12, an increase of 61.3% in the number of seizures. The increase in the number of seizures of ecstasy-type substances was driven by the increase in the number of seizures made by Northern Constabulary and Tayside Police.
• The number of seizures involving methadone remained almost the same in 2011-12 as it was in 2010-11. There were 253 seizures of methadone in 2011-12, a decrease of two seizures compared to 2010-11. Strathclyde Police and Lothian and Borders police accounted for around two thirds of methadone seizures in both years.
• For both 2010-11 and 2011-12, there were limited numbers of seizures involving LSD, methylamphetamine, morphine and 'other class A drugs'. The number of seizures involving LSD and methylamphetamine were particularly low, with less than ten seizures involving either of these types of drugs in either years.

2.1.2 Class B drugs (Tables 1, 2a, 2b, 4a and 4b, and Chart 1)

• In Scotland, there was an increase of 14.8% in the number of class B seizures between 2010-11 and 2011-12. The increase in the number of seizures involving class B drugs accounted for the vast majority of the overall increase in the number of drug seizures between 2010-11 and 2011-12. There were 20,453 seizures involving class B drugs in 2011-12, with 69.3% of all seizures involving at least one class B drug.
• Of the 20,453 seizures of class B drugs by Scottish police forces in 2011-12, 19,292 of them involved a seizure of at least one type of cannabis, this was 94.3% of all class B drug seizures. The largest number of cannabis seizures involved cannabis resin, 9,778 seizures, followed by herbal cannabis, 9,591 seizures, and finally there were 1,149 seizures that involved cannabis plants. The number of seizures of cannabis resin decreased marginally by 1.5%, between 2010-11 and 2011-12, while the numbers of seizures of herbal cannabis and cannabis plants increased by 45.2% and 31.8% respectively.
• There were decreases in the number of seizures of the remaining types of class B drugs between 2010-11 and 2011-12, the largest decrease being 47.3% for 'other class B drugs'. There were no seizures of barbiturates in 2011-12, with only four being made in 2010-11.

2.1.3 Class C drugs (Tables 1, 2a, 2b, 5a and 5b, and Chart 1)

• In Scotland, there were 4,696 seizures involving class C drugs in 2011-12, with 15.9% of all seizures involving at least one class C drug. The number of seizures involving class C drugs increased by 13.5% between 2010-11 and 2011-12, an increase of 558 seizures. The percentage of drug seizures involving at least one class C drug increased marginally by 0.4 percentage points between 2010-11 and 2011-12.
• Of the three different classes of drug, class C drugs made up the smallest proportion of the total number of seizures in both 2010-11 and 2011-12.
• The vast majority of seizures involving class C drugs in both 2010-11 and 2011-12 resulted in the seizure of diazepam. In 2010-11 there were 3,535 seizures of diazepam, which made up 85.4% of all seizures involving a class C drug. The number of diazepam seizures increased by 21.0% to 4,278 seizures in 2011-12, making up 91.1% of all seizures involving at least one class C drug.
• From the same family of drugs as diazepam, there were a further 60 seizures of temazepam and 39 seizures of other benzodiazepines in 2011-12, seven and six more seizures respectively than in 2010-11

• The number of seizures of 'other class C drugs' decreased by 35.7% from 540 seizures in 2010-11 to 347 seizures in 2011-12. The decrease in the number of seizures of 'other class C drugs' was offset by the increase in the number of seizures of diazepam, leading to the increase in the overall number of seizures involving at least one class C drug.
• There were limited numbers of seizures for the remaining types of class C drugs namely, anabolic steroids, GHB and ketamine. The number of seizures for these drugs were the same for both 2010-11 and 2011-12, with the exception of an increase of four seizures involving ketamine.

2.2 Quantities of drugs seized (Tables 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a and 8b)

2.2.1 Large seizures

• There can be considerable fluctuation in the quantities of drugs seized over time. Whilst most drug seizures consist of relatively small quantities, annual totals of drugs seized can be greatly influenced by a small number of large seizures.
• Intelligence led operations against known drug dealers tend to result in a low number of seizures, but conversely the quantity of drugs seized and their value will be high. These high profile operations may result in greater disruption to the illicit drugs trade which, whilst having a positive effect, may reduce the number of seizures made. Care must be taken when comparing quantities.
• When large quantities are present in the raw data, the relevant police force was contacted for confirmation. Each police force holds definitive data about their seizures.

2.2.2 Class A drugs (Tables 6a and 6b)

• In 2011-12, 120.5 kg of heroin were seized by Scottish police forces. This is 24.9 kg more heroin than was seized in 2010-11, an increase of 26.0% in the quantity of heroin seized. 99.1 kg of cocaine was seized in 2011-12, 49.1 kg less than was seized in 2010-11, a 33.1% decrease. There was also a reduction of 0.9 kg in quantity of crack seized in 2011-12 compared to 2010-11. The quantity of crack seized in Scotland, 7.2 kg in 2010-11 and 6.3 kg in 2011-12, is considerably smaller than either the quantity of heroin or cocaine seized.
• There was a striking increase in the number of tablets of ecstasy-type substances seized in 2011-12 compared to 2010-11, with 157,900 tablets of ecstasy-type substances seized in 2011-12. This is more than fifteen times the number of tablets seized in 2010-11. This vast increase is the result of an increase reported by Strathclyde Police. Strathclyde Police seized 7,100 tablets of ecstasy-type substances in 2010-11 with this increasing to 150,100 tablets in 2011-12. Just two of the seizures of ecstasy-type substances made by Strathclyde Police in 2011-12 resulted in 135,200 tablets being seized. Strathclyde Police accounted for 95.1% of the quantity of ecstasy-type substances seized in 2011-12.
• In 2011-12, 46.2 litres of methadone were seized, 9.6 litres more than in 2010-11. Over three quarters of the methadone seized in 2011-12 were seized by just three police forces namely, Fife Constabulary, Lothian and Borders Police and Strathclyde Police. The other types of listed class A drugs were seized in much smaller quantities and there were little changes in the quantities seized between 2010-11 and 2011-12.
• The Scottish Policing Performance Framework (SPPF) Annual Report contains information on the quantities of class A drugs seized by the police in Scotland. The last report was published in November 2012 and contains data for the period 2007-08 to 2011-12. The figures in the Drug Seizures by Scottish Police Forces bulletin are not directly comparable with the figures in the SPPF Annual Report due to the different time periods over which the data were collected. Accurate information about drug seizures may take up to nine months to be processed depending on the complexity of the operation and other operational factors. For further information please see Note 3.3.3. Furthermore, the figures contained in the SPPF Annual Report are for all types of class A drugs and not just the subset included in this bulletin. However, this is likely to have a minimal effect on the figures, as the main types of class A drug are included in this bulletin.
• The figures in the SPPF Annual Report for the quantities of class A drugs seized in 2011-12 are lower than the figures shown in this bulletin.
• The SPPF Annual Report shows that the quantities of class A drugs seized, in terms of number of tablets and liquids in litres, have increased in the most recent year between 2010-11 and 2011-12. The quantity of class A drugs seized in terms of weight in kg decreased between 2010-11 and 2011-12.
• Over the five year period covered by the SPPF Annual Report covers, the trend in the quantity of class A drugs seized in terms of weight in kg and liquids in litres has been upwards. Despite the increase seen in the last year, there has been a considerable reduction in the quantity of class A drugs being seized in tablet form, with the decrease between 2007-08 and 2011-12 being 86.7%. It should be noted that two substantial seizures of class A tablets were not included in the SPPF data, as at the time of publication, they had not yet been analysed.

2.2.3 Class B drugs (Tables 7a and 7b)

• As in 2010-11, over a tonne of cannabis resin was seized in 2011-12 by Scottish police forces. The quantity of cannabis resin seized increased by 127.2 kg to 1,196.5 kg in 2011-12. The quantity of herbal cannabis seized decreased by 248.4 kg to 619.5 kg in 2011-12, a decrease of 28.6% in the quantity of herbal cannabis seized.
• The number of cannabis plants seized in 2011-12 was 34,773, a decrease of 80 plants compared to 2010-11. Of the cannabis plants seized in 2011-12, Lothian and Borders Police and Strathclyde Police seized over three quarters of them. The number of cannabis plants seized by Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary decreased by 94.5% from 8,363 in 2010-11 to 458 in 2011-12.
• The quantity of amphetamines seized in 2011-12 almost halved to 131.5 kg compared to the 261.1 kg seized in 2010-11. The decrease was driven by Strathclyde Police, where there was a decrease of 53.8% in the quantity of amphetamines seized between 2010-11 and 2011-12. In both 2010-11 and 2011-12, Strathclyde Police seized around two thirds of amphetamines seized in Scotland.
• Seizures of mephedrone were not identifiable in the Drug Seizures by Scottish Police Forces, 2010-11 bulletin. This information is now available and it can be seen that 5.8 kg of mephedrone were seized in 2010-11. In 2011-12 the quantity of mephedrone seized increased by 3.9 kg to 9.7 kg, an increase of 67.2% between 2010-11 and 2011-12.
• Only 200 tablets were seized in the four seizures of barbiturates in 2010-11. However, there were no seizures of barbiturates in 2011-12.

2.2.4 Class C drugs (Tables 8a and 8b)

• In 2011-12, with the exception of diazepam, the quantities of class C drugs seized were relatively small compared to the quantities of either class A or class B drugs seized.
• There were 1,073,900 diazepam tablets seized by Scottish police forces in 2011-12. This is an increase of 58.2%, or 395,000 tablets, on the quantity seized in 2010-11. Seven of the eight Scottish police forces reported an increase in the quantity of diazepam seized in 2011-12 compared to 2010-11. The exception was Lothian and Borders Police where there was a decrease of 39.4% in the quantity of diazepam seized. This reduction was offset by the increases reported by other police forces, with seizures of diazepam more than doubling for Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary, Fife Constabulary, Northern Constabulary and Tayside Police.
• There was a reduction of 87.5% in the quantity of anabolic steroid tablets seized between 2010-11 and 2011-12, with 6,000 seized in 2011-12 compared to 48,100 in 2010-11. In both 2010-11 and 2011-12, anabolic steroids were only seized by Grampian Police, Strathclyde Police and Tayside Police. Please note that Lothian and Borders Police are unable to provide seizure information on anabolic steroids. For further clarification, please see Note 3.3.6.
• The vast majority of anabolic steroids seized in 2010-11 were seized by Strathclyde Police, 46,100 tablets. This reduced to 600 tablets in 2011-12, a reduction of 98.7%. In 2011-12, 88.3% of anabolic steroids were seized by Grampian Police. The seizures of anabolic steroids by Grampian Police almost trebled between 2010-11 and 2011-12.
• There were limited quantities seized of the other class C drugs, with small changes in the quantities between 2010-11 and 2011-12. The exception being other benzodiazepines with 7,300 tablets being seized in 2011-12, compared to only 1,000 tablets in 2010-11. In 2011-12, 80.8% of the other benzodiazepines seized were seized by Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary.