Almost 20,000 treated for drug and alcohol misuse

Almost 20,000 people were treated for drug and alcohol misuse in the West Midlands last year.

The region's Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster, presented the figures in his annual report and said half of serious crimes, such as murder and theft, were drug-related.

He said policing alone was not the answer and "preventing and reducing substance misuse might be the single most important action that we can take to tackle crime".

The number of people treated was up on the previous year and included 8,490 in Birmingham alone, with 3,542 using services for the first time.

In Coventry, 2,025 people underwent treatment, while there were 1,777 in Dudley, 2,095 in Sandwell, 1,177 in Solihull, 1,785 in Walsall and 1,899 in Wolverhampton.

The work was carried out by a range of different partners and Mr Foster said they were "reaching and engaging those whose needs had not previously been met by treatment services".

In the West Mercia Police force area, 7,221 adults and young people underwent treatment between January and December 2024 - a 16% increase on the same period in the previous year.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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