Pubdate: Wed, 2 Jan 2008
Source: Yorkshire Post (UK)
Copyright: 2008 Johnston Press New Media
Contact:  http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2239
Author: Tim Hollis
Note: Tim Hollis is Chief Constable of Humberside Police. He is the 
country's lead police officer on drugs policy.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Richard+Brunstrom
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)

A CLEAR MESSAGE OVER DANGERS OF DRUGS

FOR those who follow the debate concerning controlled drugs and the 
harm they cause to our local communities, it has been a rather 
confusing 12 months. In the spring, the Royal Society published a 
report broadly condemning as a failure the current government 
strategy for tackling drugs. The same report questioned the ability 
of police and other law enforcement agencies to stem the flow of 
drugs into our communities.

In the summer, the Home Office announced a period of consultation as 
it prepared to refresh and re-publish the Government's drug strategy in 2008.

Not long after, the Chief Constable of North Wales, Richard 
Brunstrom, came out unambiguously in favour of the legalisation of 
all controlled drugs.

You can hardly be surprised if young people across the region 
conclude that no-one is very sure what to do about the problems 
associated with drugs, and make their choices on the basis of a 
variety of other factors - not least what their peers are doing.

As the national lead for police chief officers on drugs, I follow the 
debate with particular interest, and retain a more optimistic view, 
albeit sharing the frustrations of some of those involved in the debate.

The language used is sometimes a barrier. Talk of a "war on drugs" is 
unhelpful. The majority of people who use drugs are young people in 
our own communities - and I speak as the father of teenagers.

When I became a police officer more than 30 years ago, I did not do 
so in order to declare war on young people - criminals, yes, but not 
young people.

Similarly, those who say we should legalise as "we've lost the war on 
drugs" adopt a false logic.

The police have been tackling burglary for more than 170 years, and 
burglaries still occur every day, but I don't hear anyone suggesting 
that "we've lost the war on burglary" and should give up.

And what about alcohol? That's a lawful drug freely available. 
Personally, I consider alcohol to be the single most harmful drug 
around if you consider its wider impact on communities.

If in doubt, then I invite you to walk around any of our town and 
city centres late on a Friday evening - or go to the local Accident 
and Emergency department and observe our health colleagues struggling 
to deal with the consequences of binge drinking.

As a police officer, I have absolutely no doubt that law enforcement 
has a crucial role to play in tackling drugs - particularly those 
criminals who deal in drugs.

I also recognise that drugs are a very complex issue and that the key 
to reducing the undoubted harm caused by drugs lies in much better 
co-ordination across a variety of government departments and public 
agencies and a better informed and supported public.

The choices young people make as to what they do to relax and enjoy 
themselves are influenced by a wide range of factors. It is clear 
that simply saying "don't do that, it's bad for you" is unlikely to 
make much of an impact on modern youth (indeed, I'm not convinced it 
made much of an impact in the days of my youth).

Consequently, drugs strategy must develop a much more sophisticated 
approach to matters of prevention and public education.

With regard to law enforcement, I make no apology for believing the 
police and other enforcement agencies are there to do just that - 
enforce the law. In Humberside, we continue to target the lower level 
dealers who make life a misery for the law-abiding majority who have 
the misfortune to live near dealers on some of our local estates.

We also recognise the deep unease caused by a small minority of young 
people who indulge in wholly unacceptable anti-social behaviour often 
mixing drugs by taking alcohol and cannabis. No-one can have felt 
easy about the recent news from Sheffield regarding the 12-year-old 
boy killed while playing "chicken" on a main road, who was found to 
be under the influence of both ecstasy and cannabis.

Policing has, in reality, developed significantly over the years. 
Many more young people who use drugs and come to the notice of police 
are not criminalised. There are many more referrals to other agencies 
and a drug-intervention programme which provides professional advice 
to assist them to come off drugs. In the end, it is a choice that the 
users must themselves make.

I personally need a lot of convincing that the criminal justice 
agencies are best placed to deal with the harm people inflict on 
themselves, their families and communities by the personal use of drugs.

Today, considerable policing effort continues to be put into 
targeting organised criminals who seek to make money out of 
trafficking and dealing in drugs. The growing number of cannabis 
factories being found across the country is an increasing cause of 
concern. Organised criminals are investing in cannabis factories not 
because they think the drug harmless and a social good. They are 
doing it because it makes them money.

This is one of the considerations behind the emerging view that 
cannabis should, indeed, be reclassified as a Class B drug. Not 
because it will solve the problems, it is more complex than that, but 
because such a move would send out a clear message to young people 
that cannabis is harmful, and to criminals that the UK regards it as 
a serious problem.

Every week, police forces across the region arrest criminals involved 
in importing and dealing drugs. Increasingly, we now target their 
assets and seek to take away the cars, cash and property they have 
acquired through dealing in drugs. In reality, this is a bigger 
impact on them personally than a spell in prison.

And we are seeking to develop stronger and more effective working 
relationships with the new Serious Organised Crime Agency and HM 
Revenue and Customs who, between them, have a responsibili ty for 
tackling the national and international markets in drugs.

So, while I have no doubt that 2008 will continue to challenge us all 
when it comes to dealing with the criminal activity and social harm 
caused by drugs, I remain optimistic that by working together more 
closely, and involving local communities more effectively, we can 
continue to develop a more sophisticated and more effective response 
to the problems being experienced locally. Our local police teams 
have an important role to play in this regard.

Meanwhile, so far as policing is concerned, we will continue to do 
our utmost to divert young people from drugs, and to arrest and to 
make life as uncomfortable and difficult as possible for the 
criminals who seek to make a profit from their sale.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake