Four in 10 police forces ‘failing to screen suspects for gambling addiction’

Forces regularly screen arrested suspects for drug addiction but fail to include gambling

‘The police have got a lot to do’, Lord Goldsmith said (PA)

Four out of 10 police forces in England and Wales are failing to screen suspects of crime for gambling addiction, new data has shown.

Forces screen arrested suspects for drug or alcohol addicition as standard practice but many are failing to include gambling, a Freedom of Information request shared with the BBC has found.

Forty-one per cent of police forces don’t include gambling, something that critics say is leading to a lack of treatment for addicts and further offending.