The drug that causes crime

Crack cocaine is linked with rising violent crime

The first national conference on crack cocaine starts in Birmingham today and it comes with a warning from the Government.

The Drugs Minister Bob Ainsworth will warn that all parts of Britain are now at risk from the spread of crack.

Click here to watch our drugs interview.

We talked to Aidan Gray who works for the Conference on Crack and Cocaine: a group set up to support professionals working in the area. He said:

"It is a growing problem in every part of the country."

Crack cocaine is a form of cocaine that's been altered. You can smoke this type of cocaine and it gives you a bigger high. It's not a major epidemic, but addiction is growing steadily all over the country. We need to address this problem.

The Government says all parts of the country are at risk from the spreading use of the drug, and the crime and violence associated with it.

The Drugs Minister Bob Ainsworth wants people to help people fight it by reporting dealers to the police.

Bob Ainsworth will say crack poses a bigger danger than many other drugs

He will also urge communities to help educate young people about the dangers of addiction.

Crack has been available in the UK for more than a decade.

It is a kind of cocaine "cooked" into rocks which can be smoked.

The high it gives is quickly followed by a low, and a desperate craving for more.

Latest figures indicate that use of crack cocaine is particularly on the increase among black communities and the 16 to 24-year-olds.

Meanwhile the price of the drug is falling, suggesting that supply is plentiful - even though record amounts have been seized.

Treatment shortage

The conference, being held in Birmingham, will hear that in cities such as London and Bristol, special police operations have been set up to arrest dealers and stamp out crack-related crime.

Mr Ainsworth will tell delegates that crack poses a bigger danger than many other drugs because of it has more links with crime than ecstasy, and more connections with violence than heroin.

Drug treatment workers say there is a shortage of treatment places for crack addicts.

Even with substantial investment in new schemes, experts say it would take several years to bring the problem under control.

In April Steve Pilkington, Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police, warned of a crime epidemic fuelled by crack cocaine.

He said the country was experiencing the same problems faced by America a decade ago.

Mr Pilkington said drugs were directly responsible for soaring crime figures in Bristol.