Children in Humberside Police force area ‘commit hundreds of drug crimes in less than a decade’

Thousands of child drug offences are recorded by police every year in England and Wales – but critics of drug prohibition warn giving a youngster a criminal record can negatively impact their future.

Ministry of Justice figures show 41 cautions or convictions were handed down to youngsters in Humberside over drug crimes in 2020-21, with the punishments among 341 recorded since records began in 2013-14.

Since then, under-18s across England and Wales have been cautioned or convicted over drugs almost 48,000 times – punishments that could have life-long consequences, according to campaigners calling for reform.

Nationally, 4,000 drug offences were committed by children during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, despite national lockdowns and other measures contributing to a significant fall in overall crime rates.

It meant 10.3% of all childhood offending in England and Wales was connected to drugs in 2020-21 – the highest proportion on record, despite a 58% drop in youth-related crime since 2013-14.

Across the area covered by the Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside, drug crimes represented 6% of the total 663 proven offences that resulted in a conviction or caution for children last year.

Steve Rolles, senior policy analyst at the Transform Drug Policy Foundation, said the figures were a “depressing reflection on the failure of UK drug policy” and added that nobody should be criminalised for personal drug use.

A Government spokesperson said it was combining tough enforcement with early intervention programmes and investing £200m in its Youth Endowment Fund to divert children from crime.

A 2018 NHS report found that a quarter of 11 to 15-year-olds surveyed in England that year said they had taken drugs, including 38% of 15-year-olds.