Summary:
Police should not be able to arrest addicts because they are not criminals, the Chief Constable of Durham has said.

Full article:
Drug addicts should be given free heroin and not be regarded as criminals, one of the country’s most senior police officers said last night. Mike Barton said addicts deserve support and police could not ‘arrest our way out of the problem’. Outspoken: Mike Barton's campaign for drug reform has been widely critcised. He says police can not ‘arrest our way out of the problem’ Durham's Chief Constable advocated giving registered addicts the drug and letting them take it under supervision in a ‘consumption room’. Writing for the Huffington Post website, he said: ‘Their entrapment in criminal justice is a waste of police time and the state’s money and dissuades addicts from revealing themselves for treatment for fear of criminal consequences. 'Police should continue to tackle drug dealers.’ The comments are the latest salvo in his campaign for drug reform, which has been widely criticised. Reform: Durham's Chief Constable advocated giving registered addicts the drug and letting them take it under supervision in a ‘consumption room’