A pilot scheme that gives heroin on prescription to addicts should be expanded, a police chief has argued.

Ken Jones, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), called for the drug to be made available to "hard core" users so they no longer need commit crime to fund their addiction.

Mr Jones is the latest senior officer to raise the subject of controlled prescription supply of heroin to addicts. The idea has increasing acceptance in ACPO because of research showing that a minority of addicts commit a huge volume of crime.

It has been estimated that an average addict commits 430 crimes a year, mainly robbery, burglary and theft, costing £45,000, and there are more than 300,000 "problematic drug users".

Methadone, an alternative substance which is less addictive than heroin, has been prescribed for decades. However, diamorphine — medical heroin — is currently only prescribed by GPs to long-term addicts in three pilot schemes, in London, Brighton and the north east, which are sponsored by the Home Office and the Department of Health.

Those involved in the scheme are chosen as addicts, rather than criminals, though some may have convictions.

Though it is not illegal for doctors to prescribe heroin, the practice requires a licence. The precise locations of the trials has been kept secret, not least to prevent attempts to steal drugs. Mr Jones and other senior officers have suggested a possible expansion of these schemes.

Mr Jones, the former Sussex chief constable, told the Independent newspaper: "You need to understand there is a hard core, a minority, who nevertheless commit masses of crime to feed their addiction. We have to find a way of dealing with them, and licensed prescription is definitely something we should be thinking about."

He added: "I am not in any shape or form a legaliser. What we need is a cross-party consensus that considers the public view to be tough on the roots of drugs as well as treating its victims."

The heroin market is worth £1.2 billion a year in England and Wales.

Last year, Howard Roberts, the deputy chief constable of Nottinghamshire, told a national police conference that studies from the Netherlands and Switzerland found that there were significant reductions in illicit drug use among those receiving the treatment, and that both studies reported a drop in crime committed by the addicts.

The Home Office said: "Heroin prescribing is one of range of clinical options available to treat a small number of chronic heroin abusers. There are no current plans to change policy and no current plans to target this treatment to prisoners specifically