The neighbourhood that is the drug capital of Wycombe

An analysis of more than 7,000 reported crimes across High Wycombe has pinpointed which area within the town has the biggest problem with drugs.

Hotpots of criminality have been identified by comparing crime report figures in "LSOA areas" - or neighbourhoods - between March and August 2021 with Census population data.

This analysis puts the south side of central High Wycombe and the nearby streets around Marlow Hill and Desborough Avenue as the town’s drug capital.

READ MORE: The Wycombe neighbourhood that is a hotbed for violent and sexual crimes

A map of the Wycombe neighbourhood with the most reported drug crimes

A total of 19 drug-related crimes were reported in this part of Wycombe according to the data, which is sourced from data.police.uk – around 10 per cent of the total 194 reported drug crimes across of Wycombe.

This neighbourhood is also the worst for sexual and violent crimes, with 208 incidents reported, making it the most dangerous neighbourhood in the town, as well as the one most afflicted by drugs.

Other common offences in this neighbourhood include anti-social behaviour (23 reports), criminal damage and arson (30 reports) and shoplifting (50 reports).

In all of Wycombe, police received a total of 7,106 reports of crime in the six-month period – or 4.1 per 100 population.

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Speaking to the Bucks Free Press a few months ago, Supt Emma Burroughs, local area commander for Wycombe, warned that drug dealing networks in the town were becoming “more sophisticated” but that her officers are working hard to get illegal substances off the streets.

She said: “There’s the exploitation element of the transferring of drugs, that’s county lines.

“Even if it’s recreational cocaine users at the weekend, we are working back from where that’s coming from and how that’s getting to you.

“We’ve got looked-after children who are being asked to just take some drugs to London for ‘X amount’ of money, they’re becoming more sophisticated, and we’re doing a lot of work around that disruption.

“That’s definitely changed, that kind of drug running. You would always see it locally or the organised crime locally, but now we are getting children from Northumbria coming down, there are very extensive drug networks.”

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