Across Wales it is believed that drug-related deaths are occurring at an average rate of one a week. While crimes such as car theft and burglary are down across the board, they have rocketed in the areas where drug use is highest. An increasing number of addicts, some as young as 13 or 14, are selling their bodies to pay for their habits. There was full employment and everyone was pulling together as one. Now the mines are gone, the sense of community's gone.
People only look out for themselves.
We need to gauge the size of the problem so we can tackle it most effectively,' says Detective Chief Superintendent Wynn Philips. We need education to reduce demand for heroin and look to the community to assist us. South Wales police are also looking to alter a policy they believe could be contributing to the number of deaths. At present, many addicts are reluctant to report overdoses because they know the police will attend the scene. According to Roger Duncan of the Swansea Drug Project, there are a number of factors behind the sudden rise, including a crackdown on the use of amphetamine which, curiously, led many users to switch to heroin.