Garda chief reflects on drugs deaths

CLARE’S Garda Chief Superintendent John Kerin has warned one of the significant dangers of the misuse or abuse of drugs and alcohol is death.

Of the six recorded drug related deaths in Clare in 2010, two were heroin related, one related to a combination of alcohol and opiates, while the other three involved prescription drugs, Chief Supt Kerin confirmed. He was responding to an article in last week’s Clare Champion in relation to sudden or unexplained deaths.
Chief Supt Kerin told The Clare Champion, “while all deaths are regrettable and harrowing for the families and friends of the deceased, it is a sad fact that people die when they misuse or abuse drugs and alcohol, be they illegal or otherwise”.
The garda chief outlined that during 2010, gardaí in Clare made a total of 423 drug-related detections. The most prevalent detections were for simple possession, which represented 303 of the overall figure, but increases were noted in the number of detections for drug cultivation, which jumped from eight detections in 2009 to 19 in 2010, an increase of 138%.
The rise in cultivation statistics, according to Chief Supt Kerin, is a countrywide phenomenon.
“It is reflected in every garda division around the country. The finds we’ve had are generally relatively small; we haven’t had any grow houses caught yet, which have been caught in a lot of other rural country divisions. It is something that we are very conscious of and we are monitoring. There does seem to be more people trying to cultivate their own cannabis in particular at the moment. In most instances it would be for their own use and the use of their friends or their immediate grouping but in a small number of instances there have been instances where it is for sale and supply,” he said.
Asked if the increase could be attributed to anything in particular he said, “I think people are more educated and there is a lot more information available about this on the internet. It is a thing that has been happening for a couple of years on a gradual trend and then the publicity of grow houses have got allows them to see that it can be done”.
The nature of this crime, according to the chief superintendent, does make detection more difficult and he explained that the majority of the detections in Clare would have been in forest or wooded areas. He stressed that the gardaí are in touch with auctioneers and people involved in letting houses with a view to investigating the possibility of grow houses being in place.
“It is something we are monitoring very closely because there is a very organised international scene and we don’t want it to catch on here in Clare,” he said.
Referring to the overall drug detections in the county, the garda chief said that over 7% of the detections were for heroin seizures, which were reflected by 32 such detections in 2010. He said he believed this figure “to be reflective of the percentage of heroin usage in the county by those who take drugs”.
“The reality is that a small number of people who now live in Clare are heroin users and are addicted to it. Some of these do commit crime to feed the habit but the proportion of crime committed by them is not substantial. Having said this, one such crime is one too many,” Chief Supt Kerin said.
“There are a number of heroin addicts who are born and bred in Clare but there are also a number of other people who have moved into Clare in the last couple of years who are heroin addicts,” he added.
“The detection rate by gardaí in Clare compares favourably with other Garda divisions and indeed exceeds most. All gardaí in the division but specifically those attached to the Divisional Drug Units, focus attention and activities on heroin users,” he added.
Other drug detection figures for Clare show that 91 detections were made for possession of drugs for sale or supply and a further 10 related to other drug offences. The latter figures were described by the chief superintendent as being “on par with 2009 detections”.
“I cannot say there is any evidence that the recession has increased the level of drug use. Indeed, it may well have resulted in a decrease in some areas because young people simply do not have the finances to purchase drugs, especially the more expensive type of drug.
“While there is more alcohol being consumed in homes now, there is far less being sold in pubs/nightclubs and this has had a significant impact in reducing outdoor public order related offences. We are probably getting more calls to houses now than here-to-fore for drink-related activities but this is part of the changing social patterns happening within society,” he concluded.