FEWER homes are being broken into in Notts – because police and campaigners are winning the war to get criminals off crack and heroin.
Use of the hard drugs, notorious for encouraging people to steal, has halved among criminals.
Six years ago, more than 40 per cent of people arrested for certain crimes, such as theft, burglary and car crime, were testing positive for the substances.
According to new figures from Nottingham Crime and Drugs Partnership, this has gradually fallen to just 23 per cent now, less than one in four – and the lowest level in six years. At the same time, the number of recorded burglaries in Notts has plummeted.
Police and justice groups say better crime-fighting tactics and improved support for addicts are driving the change.
Peter Moyes, chief executive of the partnership, said: "It means that your car or your house or your iPhone is safer than it was before.
"The reasons why people are committing crime are changing. Drugs have less influence than they did before."
Matt Stone, of Carrington, committed burglaries and shop thefts while in the grip of a crack and heroin habit. Now clean, he said: "When you are stealing you know what you are doing, but you are that wrapped up in your addiction."
