More people have been charged for possession of heroin in Ealing than any other London borough in the past six years.
A Freedom of Information Request (FOI) obtained by getwestlondon from police shows there were 512 charges, from 861 arrests, for possession of the Class A drug from 2010 to March 2016.
The figures make Ealing the number one hot-spot for heroin possession in London, with Tower Hamlets recording the second highest figure of 382 charges during the same time.
In west London, the borough of Hounslow was second highest with a total of 317 charges while Kensington & Chelsea registered the lowest with 38.
It comes after figures from Public Health England showed the number of over 55s in Ealing seeking drug and alcohol treatment had leaped up by 25% in the borough in the past year - more than anywhere else in England.
But Ealing PC Phillip Styles stressed that although police will continue to take appropriate action in line with the law - it was equally important to offer help to addicts.
The boroughs mental health liaison officer added: "When it comes to dealing with drugs we do our jobs to the best of our abilities.
"We do diversionary work when someone is caught with drugs and arrested - we work with partner associations to see if we can help them get help.
"We work with Recovery Intervention Service Ealing who deal with drug and alcohol problems and West London Mental Health Trust.
"We will deal with criminal matters if you have broken the law, they will be arrested, but we would try to help that individual if that is what is needed".
Charged for possessing a controlled drug of Class A - Heroin
| Borough | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | Total |
| Ealing | 69 | 86 | 108 | 67 | 91 | 80 | 11 | 512 |
| Hillingdon | 16 | 25 | 24 | 18 | 30 | 22 | 2 | 137 |
| Brent | 30 | 51 | 62 | 51 | 55 | 38 | 11 | 298 |
| Hammersmith & Fulham | 30 | 25 | 31 | 44 | 47 | 41 | 12 | 230 |
| Harrow | 12 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 33 | 12 | 2 | 102 |
| Hounslow | 46 | 73 | 53 | 46 | 65 | 29 | 5 | 317 |
| Kensington & Chelsea | 7 | 15 | 10 | 4 | 2 | ~ | ~ | 38 |
| Westminster | 45 | 34 | 27 | 37 | 31 | 33 | 11 | 218 |
Police added that the figures were not a guarantee the person charged was from Ealing, but that the person was charged at a station within the borough.
The figures relating to the year 2016 run from January 1 to March 31.
Ealing is currently the third largest borough in London with an estimated population of 340,000.
