Serious drug-related crime issues discussed
A meeting was held
A Northampton resident has told a panel of councillors that people are “exhausted, frustrated and rapidly losing trust in the police”, as the council has scrutinised the impact of serious drug-related crime in Northamptonshire.
Over a six-year period from 2018 to 2024, there were 6,529 knife crimes recorded in Northamptonshire, showing levels gradually increasing across the whole period. Offences include carrying a knife, using a knife during robbery or burglary, and using a knife in an assault, or the involvement of a knife in gang-related offences.
Further Youth Justice data shows that 65 per cent of knife crime offenders also have evidence of substance misuse, and they are 2.2 times more likely to have gang associations than those not involved in knife crime.
A report, which went to the county’s Police, Fire and Crime Panel on Thursday (June 19), stated that communities clearly feel the impact of serious drug-related offending
It continued: “This is consistently highlighted through public consultations and engagement activity, where residents describe the effect such crime has on their sense of safety and wellbeing.
“We have also witnessed the devastating consequences of knife crime within our communities, further underlining the seriousness of these issues.”
Appealing to the panel, Tracey Wilson, of Kings Heath Residents Association, said people were “exhausted, frustrated and rapidly losing trust in the police” due to their response to local concerns.
She added: “Our most urgent and damaging issue is the open drug dealing and public drug use happening on our streets and in our parks.
“When drug use becomes normalised it becomes accessible, when it becomes accessible our young people become targets. These individuals know exactly what they are doing – they are exploiting the lack of visible enforcement.
“It is no surprise that many residents are now too scared to report anything at all. They do not trust that their information will be acted on, they do not trust that their identity will be protected, they do not trust that the police will follow up and they do not trust that reporting crime will make them safer.”
Cllr John East (Reform UK), who is a ward councillor for the area, added: “Trust in the police is at an all time low, there is zero confidence in the police by the residents of Dallington Spencer.
“I’m told on numerous occasions at residents’ meetings that they have openly admitted to giving up reporting crime to police in general.
“The general consensus by residents is that they no longer feel safe in the community for fear of the drug gangs and the knife violence brought into the area.”
Data from the Northamptonshire Serious Violence Prevention Partnership (NSVPP) states that Northampton central was the highest recorded area for drug possession and trafficking in under-25s.
Police Fire Crime Commissioner (PFCC) Danielle Stone said she was aware of the “endemic problems” from her previous role as a councillor for the Castle ward.
“I don’t want to see drug use normalised and I don’t want to see our young people groomed and I am aware that we have a lot of drug dealing on our streets and in our parks,” she told the panel.
“I do expect the police to take positive action around these issues and bring, particularly the gangs, the gang leaders, the people who are grooming our children, bringing them through the courts.
“These are societal issues, they’re not just policing issues. I feel really strongly that our young people have been let down over a generation and it began when we disbanded the youth service at the county.”
Over the past two years, NSVPP has commissioned a range of organisations to deliver interventions, including sports mentoring projects working with children and young people who present risk factors associated with serious violence, as well as a co-produced knife crime campaign in 2025.
The next round of NSVPP funding was launched at the start of June, taking bids of up to £140k to fund projects to tackle serious crime.