Drug Hot Spots in NSW

It seems as though the media wants us to believe that drug use occurs mostly in ‘less affluent’ areas of Sydney, and in regional NSW.

But while those living in wealthy neighbourhoods might think drugs are associated with ‘poorer’ areas, data obtained by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) suggests that some of Sydney’s most prestigious suburbs have the highest rates of drug possession and supply.

Here’s a breakdown of drug activity by offence type and area:

Cannabis

SBS series Struggle Street sparked controversy last year after showing 21-year-old Mount Druitt local Billie-Jo Wilkie smoking cannabis while pregnant.

The confronting scene attracted many negative comments on social media about the residents of Mount Druitt, with one viewer posting: ‘Mt Druitt, a good reason for compulsory sterilisation.’

But it wasn’t Mt Druitt, or any other outer Sydney suburb, that topped the list for cannabis possession.

Rather, the Sydney Local Government Area (LGA) was in number one place with 1594.1 incidents involving cannabis use or possession per 100,000 population between October 2014 and September 2015; quadruple the state average of 357.6. It should be noted, however, that a significant proportion of those detected are likely to have been visiting the city from other areas.

Country areas such as Mildura, Walgett and Bourke also had high rates, at 850.3, 882.6 and 1123.2 per 100,000 population respectively.

Waverley LGA was also right up there, with 796.5 per 100,000. Waverley includes the iconic Sydney suburbs Bondi Beach, Tamarama and Bronte which, like the Sydney CBD, attract large number of visitors.

Trendy inner-west suburbs including Marrickville, Newtown, Surry Hills and Potts Point closely followed, with 710 incidents per 100,000 people.

By comparison, the Blacktown LGA, which includes Mount Druitt, recorded 497.2 incidents – not a great deal more than the state average.

Ecstasy

Ecstasy has featured heavily in the media in recent times after a number of tragic deaths at music festivals.

Some of Sydney’s most expensive suburbs recorded the highest rates of ecstasy use in the state. In North Sydney LGA, which includes Kirribilli, Milsons Point, Neutral Bay and Crows Nest, there were 228.9 recorded incidents of ecstasy use or possession per 100,000 population; well over the state average of 41.6.

The rate in nearby Randwick LGA was 145.7, while the rate in the Sydney City area was 564.1.

Not surprisingly, the Sydney Olympic Park area had some of the highest recorded incidents of ecstasy use/possession, at 135.4 per 100,000. This is partly attributable to festivals and public events being held at the Park – including the annual Stereosonic music festival, during which there were 221 drug-related arrests last year.

Cocaine

Cocaine is known as a drug of the wealthy – so it may come as no surprise that affluent areas, including the Wollahra, Waverley and Randwick LGA, reported the highest rates of cocaine use/possession; at 203.6, 112.3 and 91.1 per 100,000 population respectively; compared with the statewide average of 23.5.

Parramatta also reported high rates of cocaine use at 74.5 per 100,000 people.

By contrast, many rural and regional areas reported very low – and in some cases, zero – rates of cocaine use, which may be reflective of the high price commanded by the drug, as well as lack of supply in rural areas.

Ice / Methamphetamines

NSW is reported to be in the grips of an ‘ice epidemic’ – and the problem is said to be most prevalent in country areas.

This is indeed reflected in the BOCSAR statistics – with areas such as Cessnock, Goulburn, Forbes and Bourke having some of the highest recorded rates of amphetamine use anywhere in the state.

However, statistics suggest that Liverpool and the Sydney CBD also have high rates – at 209.7 and 655.3 per 100,000 respectively, compared with the statewide average of 121.6.

Randwick and Marrickville LGAs also reported high rates of amphetamine use – at 115.2 and 143.2 per 100,000 respectively.

Other Drug Offences

When it came to other drug crimes, the results were even more interesting.

The incidence of drug supply generally followed trends for possession of each of the respective drugs – i.e. areas that had high rates of cannabis possession also had high reported rates of people getting charged with supplying cannabis.

But other drug crimes, such as drug manufacture, were less predictable – while there were very few people charged with this offence in the inner city area (perhaps because most people would not manufacture in such a heavily populated area), regional centres such as Mudgee, Cobar and Nambucca reported the highest rates.

The Rockdale and Botany Bay LGAs also recorded some of the highest rates of drug importation – which is, of course, because those areas encompass Sydney Airport and Port Botany. Surprisingly, however, there were also high rates of drug importation in the Willoughby LGA – which generally has low crime rates.

What Do the Statistics Suggest?

Although statistics can’t always be relied upon, and can be skewed by a range of factors, the BOCSAR figures appear to confirm that drug use occurs everywhere – including in ‘safe’ and ‘affluent’ suburbs.

The figures suggest that it is inaccurate and unfair to stereotype particular areas and people as drug users or suppliers.