OVERALL crime in the borough has dropped but drugs offences have risen by almost 20 per cent, police figures have revealed.
The statistics for 2007/08, published on the Metropolitan Police's website last week, showed there was a 6.2 per cent decrease in crime across the borough over the last year.
There were 1,745 fewer crimes committed than in 2007, with significant drops in robbery,motor vehicle and domestic crime.
But drug-related crime rose by 17.3 per cent for the year leading up to March 2008, with offences in West Ruislip more than doubling.
Superintendent Peter Withers said: "Putting the crime figures in context, it must be noted that overall crime fell by 6.2 per cent.
"Whilst the statistics show an increase in drugs-related offences, this figure can be misleading, as the more people we search and arrest will reflect on the increase. This is also indicative of our drive and success in counteracting drugs activity in Hillingdon."
Burglary rose by 5.7 per cent; the number of people affected by burglary rose over the year from 13 out of every 1,000 to 13.8.
The biggest increase was seen in West Drayton with 15.2 people per thousand affected - up from 9.6 the previous year.
Supt Withers added: "We saw a rise in burglary last year.Our attempt to reduce this type of crime included proactive police operations and we have seen good results in recent months. Our latest figures show that burglary is down by 33.3 per cent when compared to the same month last year.We are continuing to conduct operations to maintain this downward trend."
