More than 1,000 suspected drugs deaths recorded this year by Police Scotland
Police Scotland recorded more than 1,000 suspected drug deaths during the first nine months of this year, according to latest figures.
And while that was a slight fall of four per cent on the previous year, deaths remain at a “high level”, says the Scottish government.
Police Scotland recorded 1,007 deaths between January and September this year that it suspects involved illicit drugs use – 40 fewer than the same period in 2020.
The police divisions with the greatest number of suspected drug deaths were Greater Glasgow (265), Lanarkshire (98), Edinburgh City (86) and North East (86).
The most recent quarterly figures for July to September 2021 show there were 285 suspected drug deaths, 13 per cent (44) fewer than the previous calendar quarter and ten per cent less than in the same period the previous year.
The operational measure used by Police Scotland to determine these figures includes deaths that the force suspects involve illicit drugs based on the reports of attending officers’ observations and initial inquiries at the scene of death.
Despite recent decreases, there continues to be an “upward trend” in suspected drug deaths over the period for which data is available, said Scottish Minister for Drugs Policy Angela Constance, who warned there was still “much work to be done to turn around this public health emergency”.
National Records of Scotland figures – based on drug-related causes listed on death registration records – show there were 1,339 drug-related deaths registered in Scotland in 2020, five per cent more (59 deaths) than in 2019 and the largest number ever recorded since the series began in 1996.
Latest Police Scotland figures for the most recent four quarters show there were 1,371 suspected drug deaths over the 12 months to September 2021.
This is two per cent (31) fewer than the 12 months to June 2021, but is the fifth highest number recorded in any rolling 12-month period.
Ms Constance said: “While there has been a slight downturn in the number of suspected drug deaths, it is still far too high, and I am clear there is much hard work and many challenges ahead if we are to truly turn the tide on this emergency.
“These quarterly reports were commissioned to provide more regular reporting of data on drug death trends in Scotland so everyone involved in our national mission remains focused on the work we must do to get more people into the treatment which works for them as quickly as possible.
“The £250 million we are investing in tackling this public health emergency will make a difference.
“I am working to ensure it reaches frontline services as quickly as possible and that every single penny will count as we continue to prioritise our efforts to turn this crisis around.”