Crack cocaine and crime: Breaking the cycle

Crack cocaine use, purity, and production are all increasing, according to government reports. After a downward trend in crack consumption, the percentage of crack cocaine users rose by 8.5% between 2011 and 2017. Public Health England reported a 19% increase in people entering addiction treatment for crack between the years 2015-16 and 2017-18, a significant increase.

One explanation for this is an increase in cocaine production and purity. Powder cocaine has become much more pure in recent years while the price per kilo has remained stable, meaning cocaine has become much more affordable. The story is the same for crack – purity nearly doubled between 2013-2016, from 36% to 71%. While crack cocaine users still only account for a very small percentage of the population, an increase in the drug’s purity and affordability has fueled a rise in usage.

Increased usage coupled with criminal gangs finding new ways to exploit users is bad news for the communities that crack affects. Speaking to the BBC, an ex-crack user from Wales called Richard reported that crack used to be more difficult to get, requiring him to go to a major city like Cardiff – but now it’s ‘creeping into the valleys’. The National Crime Agency says that there is evidence that crack is driving an increase in violence in England and Wales.

Crack’s addictive qualities and effects on the user

The effects of crack cocaine are very short-lived. Crack is much more potent and addictive than powder cocaine, and more of the drug is needed more quickly compared to cocaine. People who are addicted to crack tend to deteriorate much more quickly compared with powder cocaine users and are more likely to resort to desperate tactics to fuel their habit. Severe mental health problems are exacerbated by crack, like depression, anxiety and psychosis. Eventually, the user will end up self-medicating for the unpleasant circumstances they have found themselves in and for the mental health issues that are being caused by crack.

Crack use is often linked to homelessness, unemployment and sex work. Dependent crack users are unlikely to be able to hold down a job due to the paranoia and erratic behaviour that crack usage elicits in the user. Crack use is also highly stigmatised, meaning it’s usually the most desperate people with little to lose who are driven to try it. Dealers often target the most vulnerable, like homeless people.

The UK government’s Serious Violence Strategy links crack to violence in users in two ways – directly, because of the psychoactive effect it has on the user, and indirectly, from its tendency to fuel robberies to serve drug addiction.

Despite this link, the crimes committed by people addicted to crack tend to be petty and acquisitive – shoplifting, begging, sex work and low-level drug dealing. Violent crimes are much more likely to be committed by dealers operating within criminal gangs.

Organised crime

When people think about crack cocaine and criminality, they often focus on users funding their habits. However, the importation, synthesis and sale of crack is usually undertaken by organised crime groups who are involved in other forms of serious crime like firearms and modern slavery.

Before it even reaches UK shores, the cultivation and export of cocaine is rooted in human misery. In Colombia, the UN reports that armed groups are heavily involved in cocaine markets, intensifying violence, illegal mining, human trafficking, violence against social leaders and a deterioration of security in the region.

The importation of cocaine often relies on corrupt airport or port officials to get the drugs into the country and the hands of criminal gangs. Yachts, small boats and the postal system are also used. Drug traffickers often take advantage of vulnerable people by forcing them to act as mules, which ensures they take all of the risk for very little of the reward.

Once it’s in the country, the proceeds from the sale of illegal drugs can be used to fund other forms of crime, like firearms and terrorism.

County lines

County lines are a relatively new phenomenon. The Home Office defines it as the movement of drugs by criminal gangs between different areas using a dedicated phone line. From there, they will use children or vulnerable adults to move and store drugs and money.

The use of a dedicated phone line to operate a closed drug market, off the streets, isn’t a new phenomenon and is likely as old as the introduction of mobile phones. It is the intensification of the exploitation of young and vulnerable people that is the hallmark of the county lines phenomenon. This exploitation, plus the rise in affordability and availability of mobile technology, has allowed gangs to expand their dealing into more remote areas while maintaining control from urban bases. This phenomenon explains why Richard, the ex-addict from Wales, noticed that crack was ‘creeping into the valleys.’

County line dealers will single out and exploit children or adults with addiction or mental health problems to act as runners. Often, they will take over the houses of vulnerable people to operate their drug dealing. The residents of the property may be offered free drugs to incentivise them or threatened or hurt to keep them in line. This exploitation can involve physical, mental and sexual abuse, and people exploited by gangs using county lines tactics may be trafficked far away from their homes as part of the gang’s drug dealing activities.

Breaking the cycle

Crack cocaine use is strongly linked with poverty, with most crack users inhabiting extremely marginalised positions, such as engaging in sex work or not having a safe home to stay in. Dealers target the most vulnerable, both to sell crack and to exploit in county lines dealing. This means that funding interventions to reduce inequality and alleviate poverty, initiatives to house people living on the streets securely, and organised efforts to give people engaging in sex work a safe route out of the industry would all tackle the root causes of crack addiction. However, after years of public spending cuts, and plenty more in the pipeline as of 2024 including 3bn to the welfare budget, this seems unlikely.

Users entering crack cocaine rehab need comprehensive and tailored services to ensure they have the best chance of getting off and staying off crack. Drug addiction treatment should be as accessible as possible – but these services have also been cut by 40% between 2014 and 2022.

The government acknowledges the devastation that county lines dealing causes in communities and is aware of the violence it generates – over half of homicides in the UK are linked to gangs involved in the sale or distribution of drugs. In February 2024, the Joint Combating Drugs Unit (JDCU) restated its 2021 commitment to ‘reduce drug use to a 30-year low.’ The JCDU has been working together since 2021 to achieve that goal – however, their 2024 report stated that their efforts would be wasted if they ‘failed to develop a compelling case for the sustained investment needed to reduce the harms from illegal drugs.’ Despite the JCDU being formed in 2021 with a ten-year goal to reduce drug use, funding has only been agreed until 2024-2025, and without more funding, it is unlikely that any of the unit’s goals will be achieved.

The government is aware of the devastation and human misery driven by addiction and criminal drug gangs. However, this awareness has not translated into funding. Without government support for services that tackle the root causes of addiction, the recent rise in crack usage will not likely be reversed.

If you’re struggling with crack cocaine addiction, contact us to find out how we can help.