Scrive il Times che, secondo una ricerca del governo non ancor resa pubblica, una persona arrestata su 5 ha fatto uso di eroina. Jack Straw, il nuovo Segretario di Stato, ricorrerà ai risultati di questa ricerca per giustificare il prossimo annuncio di sottoporre i criminali al test antidroga obbligatorio e ad eventuali trattamenti di recupero, anche quando il reato commesso non e' in alcun modo legato a fatti di droga.

Segue il testo dell'articolo, a firma Stephen Grey

'One in five people arrested by police in Britain has been using heroin, according to unpublished government research. The figures show that use of opiates among criminals is three times higher than in the United States.

Jack Straw, the new Home Secretary, will this week seize on the findings, to be released in the autumn, to justify an announcement of random testing and compulsory treatment for criminal offenders, even where no drug offence is been committed.

Altough drug use is known to be high inside jails, the extent of hard drug addiction among minor criminals has not been assessed before. Home Office officials believe the extent to which drug addiction has fuelled a rise in crime may have been seriously understimated.

On Wednesday Straw will use his first address as home secretary to the police federation to announce proposals for three-month testing and treatment orders to be used by magistrates to tackle known drug users, burglars and thieves.

Hi will claim that heroin users are responsible for about £ 1 billion of property crime each year -equivalent to a £ 60 loss per household.

"There is very good evidence that these people who test positive for hard drugs are involved in quite extraordinary amount of acquisitive crime, burgling and robbing their way around town to fund their habits", said a senior Home Office source.

Under the proposal, to be included in Straw's Crime and Disorder Bill and to be introduced on a pilot basis, an initial drug test would be carried out on any offender suspected of being a drug user prior to sentencing.

If tested positive, he or she would be forced to accept treatment and be subject to random tests throughout the three-month order.

It would apply only to those given fines or sentences in the community. Random tests are already conducted in prisons.

Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of the National Association of Probation Officers, said al least half of all property crime was now being committed by drug abusers.

"My concerns are, however, thet few magistrates, probation officiers or police have been trained to recognise who might be a drug user and should be tested. Drug addicts can be very good at hiding their fixation", he said'