Durham police force has announced plans to provide free heroin to addicts in an attempt to lower crime rates.
The plan will see addicts given the drug for free twice a day where they will be supervised injecting the drug in specially designed “shooting galleries”.
Durham police have been ranked the best police force in the country and are now using that title to trial the new scheme.
It is hoped that with a safe and free spot to get their fix, it will stop addicts from stealing to provide for their stash and simultaneously put drug dealers out of business by giving the drug away for free. It’s estimated to cost around £15,000 per person a year.
A constable for the force has justified the decision by saying “Police were set up to prevent crime, not to arrest people… Our primary concern is to prevent crime. If we’ve got people who are addicted to Class A drugs committing crime, it makes good sense to get that person off drugs. Addiction is a medical problem, not a criminal justice problem.”