Police "painfully aware" of drug dealing and homelessness issues in Leighton Buzzard

An increase in the openness of drug dealing in Leighton Buzzard is becoming apparent to many residents, a local councillor has warned.

There are concerns some people begging have a roof over their heads or have rejected an offer of housing and are on the street to support a drugs habit or drug dealing, according to Independent Leighton Linslade West Central Bedfordshire councillor Victoria Harvey.

“Many children walk past them on the way back from local schools,” she told Central Bedfordshire Council’s police and crime advisory panel.

“There’s also a shortage of face-to-face help available for someone genuinely in need of assistance. Pathways2Recovery is based in Dunstable and Citizens Advice is short of physical space.

“There’s a real lack of town centre venues for adult skills, such as cooking, with people having to travel to Bedford for many courses, and there’s no community café for help with writing CVs.

“How can the police assist those who need to be put in touch with services?” she asked. “And how can the force reduce the amount of drug dealing in the town centre and other key places?”

Chief Insp Jim Goldsmith, of Bedfordshire Police, replied: “We’re painfully aware of the issues in Leighton Buzzard, as well as other areas of Central Beds.

“The question you raise is extremely complex because it’s not just the police who deal with the homeless. It’s not just us considering the addiction side of drug abuse and everything else.

“I don’t know them. But these people could be suffering from some form of addiction, which wouldn’t fall under our remit.

“In Bedfordshire, the ‘right care, right person’ (RCRP) started recently. When people are calling in about individuals, we’ve that partnership agreement which links our control room with those services.

“We can send our combined unit with a paramedic and mental health nursing to care for them and assess their needs, if it isn’t suitable for a police office. That follows a pathway, with a referral into the social services network in Central Bedfordshire.

“On the drugs issue, there’s plenty of work going on across the county around the county lines and organised crime. It’s about breaking the chain for us. We want to stop the supply of drugs, which isn’t necessarily visible on the street.

“But to then enable us to work with our partners to have that teachable moment and that intervention with those people dependent upon them.”

CBC’s head of community safety Jeanette Keyte added: “It’s a complex picture with all the issues you’ve brought together.

“It’s really to ensure there’s a considerable amount of partnership working around, which stems from the ten-year drugs strategy. Certainly prevention is one aspect.

“There are a number of groups working across Central Bedfordshire, Bedford and Luton to prevent that drug supply, as well as the work of our community policing teams.

“We’re very responsive to rough sleepers, offering them support as well. But there’s an issue of capacity. If someone refuses the help, there’s nothing more an outreach worker can do than continue to offer support.”