"Pockets of crack cocaine" present in Cork city
Alcohol is still the number one substance people are seeking help for, but cocaine, benzodiazepines, heroin and cannabis users are all seeking HSE treatment services, while Garda drug figures are down
“Pockets of crack cocaine” are now present in Cork city, a HSE drug and alcohol worker has told Cork City Joint Policing Committee (JPC).
However, prosecutions for drug-related offences are down on last year.
“Yes, we have pockets of crack cocaine in Cork,” Cork Local Drug and Alcohol Task Force co-ordinator Joe Kirby told the JPC Friday afternoon. “It is emerging, but it’s not as prevalent as other substances we are seeing.”
“Alcohol is the number one presenting substance to all our services by a country mile, followed by cocaine.”
The other frequently encountered substances in HSE services are Benzodiazepines, heroin and cannabis, Mr Kirby said.
696 people presented to the HSE’s Cork/Kerry services for drug treatment in the first half of this year. 73% of those seeking treatment were male and 27% were female.
Delays in Dublin injecting centres mean “Cork is suffering”
Mr Kirby said that discussions on the provision of a supervised injecting facility for Cork city had been stalled over the period of the Covid crisis.
“We’re looking to re-energise that discussion as a city,” he told the JPC. “We’re ultimately trying to move away from people injecting in alleyways to a more medically appropriate setting.”
Mr Kirby said the emphasis on injecting centres for Dublin was slowing down progress for services in other cities including Cork and Limerick.
“The funding and the push is for Dublin,” he said. “The Minister wants to see them in place first there, and get evaluation there before other cities are rolled out and we would not be in agreement with that.”
“Cork city is suffering as a result of delays in Dublin. I think a high-level working group in the city, and political pressure is needed.”
Meanwhile, there has been a 36% decrease in arrests for drugs crimes recorded by the Gardaí so far in 2022 over the same time period in 2021.
Drugs and weapons offences were the only categories of crime to see a reduction over 2021, with all other categories of crime seeing significant increases over the first three quarters of 2021.
“A lot of our categories are up but last year we were coming out of Covid so there’s a health warning over these figures,” Chief Superintendent Thomas Myers told the JPC while presenting the figures. It was unclear how these figures relate to pre-Covid data.
With regard to the drop in drugs and weapons offences, CS Myers said Covid restrictions in 2021 had led to an increase of vehicle searches and this could account for the change. “There was more focus on drug possession and supply last year,” he said.
Crime increase: the numbers
Gardaí have dealt with 64,787 reported incidents to date in 2022. Crime rates in specific categories that have risen in 2022 include:
72% more property crimes of robberies and thefts, from 1,513 reported crimes in 2021 to 2,598 so far in 2022.
39% more crimes against the person including assaults, murder threats and child neglect or cruelty, from 740 in 2021 to 1,028 in 2022.
11% more reports of rapes and sexual assaults. There were 31 reported rapes last year and 39 to date in 2022.
a 12% increase in public order offences
a 13% increase in driving under the influence
a 42% increase in liquor licensing offences
a 23% increase in criminal damage including arson
There has been one murder recorded in Cork so far this year.
There have been 179 arrests for begging in the city centre so far this year. “There are lots of complaints coming in about begging in the city centre,” CS Myers said. “But it’s a revolving door because a lot of these people have homelessness issues, addiction issues.”