London's drug crime hotspots revealed

More than a quarter of all London's drugs crimes are committed in only three boroughs, an Evening Standard study has revealed.

The boroughs of Westminster, Lambeth and Haringey account for an astonishing 26.6 per cent of the 33,321 drug offences recorded by Scotland Yard between April 2002 and 2003.

The figures put them far ahead of London's other local authority areas for drugs crime, and mean that each year an average of 11.9 offences are committed for each 1,000 people in the three boroughs.

And the analysis shows that Westminster has London's worst drugs problem, with 12.67 arrests per 1,000 inhabitants in the past financial year, followed by Haringey with 11.72 and Lambeth with 11.48. The average figure for the city is only 4.54 arrests per 1,000 people.

The figures include people arrested both for the possession and trafficking of drugs, as well as the handful of other drug offences recorded each year, meaning those arrested can end up with punishments ranging from lengthy prison sentences to a police caution.

The Scotland Yard statistics show that both Haringey and Lambeth suffered a massive rise in drug offences in the past year, with the number of arrests in both boroughs almost doubling over the previous year.

The rise is particularly marked in Haringey, which has gone from 773 drugs offences in 1999/2000 to 2,598 in 2002/2003 - a more than three-fold increase.

The soaring level of drug crime in the borough has been accompanied by a rise in murders and violent offences, with gun crime now so serious that an armed response vehicle with three heavily armed officers is on constant patrol.

George Meehan, leader of Haringey council, said: "We have been supporting the police in taking strong action in closing down crack houses. In the longer term we have been working on preventative measures to reduce the abuse of drugs."

In Lambeth, drug offences have risen in the wake of the so-called "Lambeth experiment" when a more low-key approach to cannabis possession was put in place by controversial borough commander Brian Paddick. Arrests fell significantly in the last financial year when the experiment was running but are now far higher than in the years before the exercise began.

Councillor Charles Anglin, executive member for community safety at Lambeth council, said: "There has been a joint council and police clampdown on crack which has led to falls in gun crime, street crime and burglary. Lambeth is safer now than a year ago."

The Met statistics show the borough least affected by drug crime is Merton, where there were 247 drug arrests last year, the equivalent of 1.47 per 1,000 people - almost 10 times less than the level in Westminster.

Alan Bradley, cabinet member for community protection at Westminster council, said: "Statistics based on our 240,000 resident population can be misleading when we have a transient population of about one million each day. Recent statistics showing that of youth crimes committed in Westminster, only 16 per cent were committed by Westminster residents, highlight the unique position facing central London."

The study shows that 47per cent of all drugs crime are committed in eight boroughs, which are the top three plus Camden, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth and Hackney.