Stopping crime and drugs in Weston & the villages

Weston has a serious drugs problem. Large numbers of addicts are referred from all over the country for treatment in Weston. Too many relapse and stay in the town, fuelling the town’s crime figures – a 2006 report showed that 57% of burglaries were committed by addicts from outside North Somerset. Weston needs a clean image to attract visitors, families and jobs.  We mustn’t let drugs and crime put it at risk.

Before he became Weston’s MP, John launched the Cleaner Weston Campaign to tighten up the rules on drug treatment centres and so-called “dry houses”. Weston had some excellent registered drug treatment centres, but quite a few dodgy rehabs too. The Cleaner Weston Campaign aims to crack down on the dodgy ones, leaving the town with fewer, better rehabs.

The Cleaner Weston Campaign has several proposals to solve the problem. Firstly, Britain needs more rehabs in cities like Bristol or Birmingham, so that everybody else’s addicts aren’t simply dumped in Weston because there’s no way of treating them anywhere else.

Secondly, Weston is leading the way with a new accreditation scheme for local rehabs. It’s the first of its kind in Britain and forces dodgy rehabs to clean up or close down. Either way, it’s better for the addicts because they’ll be more likely to kick their habit and rejoin normal society, and it’s better for local residents too.

And thirdly, we need the organizations which are sending addicts for treatment in Weston to take responsibility for the whole of their treatment. At the moment it’s too easy for them to send an addict to Weston for the first step in their recovery, and then abandon them here. That’s bad for the addicts who need sustained help and support to stay clean, and it’s disastrous for local people who have to live with the drugs and crime when an addict relapses.

As a result of John’s pressure, plus a lot of support and hard work from the Council, the police and local health services, things are starting to change. The number of addicts coming to Weston has dropped by between a quarter and a third, and some of the worst rehabs have closed down. The number of rehab bed spaces in Weston has dropped by a third and the new accreditation scheme is having a noticeable difference on the quality of rehabs. Most recently, after consistently pushing Ministers, John’s got the Government to back the aims and objectives of the Cleaner Weston Campaign. They’ve promised that the national Probation service and NHS will change how they deal with addicts so fewer of them are dumped in Weston too. So a big start’s been made, but there's a huge amount still to do.

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