FCO British Assistance Abroad
Arrests and Drug Arrests
There has been a 39% fall in drug cases recorded in Australia following a spike in 2013/14, and a 63% fall in Canada (primarily due to the banning of khat in the UK). This is however overshadowed by some countries have seen an increase in drug arrests – including Cyprus. This which saw a jump from 22 to 32 and China from 7 to 18. The total number of drug arrests globally for British nationals has fallen by 4 % in 2014/15 to 691 cases (from 717 in 2013/14). The good news is that since 2009/10 there has been a 26% drop in detentions, a reduction of 1,669 cases. This includes a 30% reduction in drug-related arrests.
Hospitalisations
Spain still remains the country with the highest number of British nationals hospitalised (629 cases). But the number fell by 7% compared to 2013/14. Globally, they have received 2,872 enquiries about hospitalisations, 835 from British tourists, 1,769 from British people living abroad and 268 from Brits in the UK, foreign nationals and/or local authorities.
Rape & Sexual Assault
252 British nationals were victims of reported rape and/ or sexual assault during 2015. This is a marked reduction of six cases compared to 2014. Spain has seen an increase from 40 cases in 2013/14 to 52 cases in 2014/15. The average number of cases in Spain over the last five years has been 51. Greece has seen a decrease of 55% from 33 cases in 2013/14 to 15 cases in 2014/15. Turkey has seen a fall of 42%, which may be attributable in part to local prevention work.
Lost and Stolen Passport (Emergency Travel Documents)
There had been 20,663 passports were reported lost or stolen in 2014/15. There was also a total of 37,890 Emergency Travel Documents were provided to British travellers in 2014/15. Compared to 31,134 in 2013/14. Spain (6,329), USA (3,641) and Australia (3,182) were the highest volume countries of ETDs. South Africa and Hong Kong has also made it into the list this time.
