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Wednesday 16 May 2012

Hamsterdam Britain

Friday, 31st July 2009

The good news about the Drug War is that the police know it can't be won. The bad news is that the politicians, judging by their public pronouncements at least, still seem to think it can. There are times when I think it's important to question some of the assumptions made about policing; but when the police have the good sense to agree with me it's only proper to acknowledge the excellent work they're doing. So huzzahs for the UK Drug Policy Commission whose latest report the Times summarises thus:

Police should switch their focus away from arresting drug dealers and concentrate on managing the harm they cause, according to an influential report.

The UK Drug Policy Commission says new dealers take the place of those arrested and often bring new problems such as violent turf wars. The report calls for the authorities to admit that if they cannot eradicate drug markets they should reduce the damage drugs inflict on local communities.

It said the police and other agencies should prioritise the most harmful characteristics of drug markets and focus on addressing them. The report suggests the authorities should focus on cracking down on particularly harmful behaviours linked to drugs including gun violence, sexual exploitation and the use of children and as lookouts or couriers.

“Levels of enforcement activity appear to bear no direct relationship to levels of drug use or availability,” the report said. “Traditionally, drug enforcement efforts have focused on arrests and seizures, with the aim of reducing supply but drug markets are large, resilient, and quick to adapt.”
It suggested “seeking to displace a market to another area, where it will have less impact”.

If you think you've seen this on TV it's because you have. We're in Hamsterdam and Bunny Colvin is our leader. Well, sort of. It's also important to appreciate that this isn't a question of bookish, academic police types, nor even the attitude of big city cops. Here in the Scottish Borders we have a new Chief Superintendent commanding the local division of Lothian & Borders constabulary. This week he told the Southern Reporter that “No amount of high-profile policing will solve today’s drug problem" and that the best the police can to is "keep it at bay".

That seems like commonsense to me. But no, the politicians repeat the tired old lines that the War on Drugs can be won by "cracking down" and "taking tough measures" that "send the right message" and all the other weary cliches we've heard for decades.

Now I'd probably go rather further than the UKDPC since, unlike the UKDPC, I really would be content if drugs were legalised. But since that happy day seems some way off, we must make do with what we have. And at the moment, that means taking the kind of more sensible, even humane, approach advocated by the UKDPC. There's a long way to go yet, but an approach that doesn't increase the damage done by the Drug War is surely better than persisting in policies which have, manifestly, failed and, for that matter, been of questionable ethical or philosophical merit.

Filed under: Britain (736 more articles) , Drugs (86 more articles) , Police (158 more articles)

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Shane Glackin

July 31st, 2009 1:57am Report this comment

Well, this is one area where we liberals, you libertarians, and really, anybody amenable to evidence, can agree.

Some time in the last century, we declared war on some inert chemicals. By any standards, we are losing.

Beefeater

July 31st, 2009 4:34am Report this comment

'ello, 'ello, 'ello, can't ave that 'ere. Scram off to the Shetlands where you'll 'ave less impact.

'ello, luv, you being sexually exploited for your fix? why not put the money into a Building Society instead? And they 're doing a nice veggie burger after yoga class at the Womens' Shelter today.

'ello, sonny, you shouldn't be hanging around 'ere. Bugger off to the video games at the youf centre.

Just a bit o' commonsense, and crime and the paperwork goes away. Just a bit o effics and filosofy and women and kiddies can 'ave somefink to look forward to, again.

That leaves us policepeople to get on wiv police work: Awareness Class and Outreach Training.

logdon

July 31st, 2009 11:32am Report this comment

The day any politician of any stripe acknowledges the true scale and embeddedness of marijuana use in Britain will be the day when honesty prevails.

Until then they are widdling in the wind.

It is unstoppable. It discounts all social classes. It is as prevalent amongst the working classes as the professionals. It knows no boundaries. In reality it is a supreme accomplishment of consumer driven marketing. It is a universal.

And in my opinion, and many others it is far less harmful than the alcohol epidemic which is ravaging our society and storing untold problems for future generations.

From time immemorial we've needed our fixes. The mode of obtaining the blessed relief, be it drink, smoking or chemical ingestion have varied depending on availability and culture. In Britain and the west in general, alcohol has been regarded as the acceptable drug of choice yet why this is remains a mystery.

One thing. If the police were freed of pursuing every two bit, easy target weed dealer and concentrated on the rehabilitation aspect of hard drug useage we’d at least be making some entrance into a sane approach to this phenomena.

Paul L

July 31st, 2009 11:41am Report this comment

I agree, this so-called War on Drugs is irrational and unwinnable and the police should be refocussing on winnable issues like paperwork, community outreach, and gender awareness issues.

A halt on the unwinnable War on Theft, War on Murder, War on Fraud, War on Drunken Violence, would also be sensible and would surely free up even more resources. As soon as someone is jailed for these offences someone else comes along and commits more of them so I see no point at all in wasting time trying to stamp out what are often not serious matters or are at least understandable.

Rhoda Klapp

July 31st, 2009 12:13pm Report this comment

Yes, any crime which the police cannot handle ought to be legalized. There is evidence from the behaviour of the population that they do not support that law in sufficient numbers, so it cannot be sustained in a democracy.

Strangely though, that doesn't apply to any other law, only drugs.

I am convinced that one day, when we libertarians storm the citadel of restrictive law, and break through the outer layers to the inner sanctum, I'll turn around and find there's no-one still with me, they will all be off their heads behind the outer wall, because the only thing they really wanted was to do dope without fear.

Steve.W

July 31st, 2009 3:02pm Report this comment

“The good news about the Drug War is that the police know it can't be won”, really?

I would have said the problem here is the Serious Organised Crime Agency,SOCA. The police have wasted far too much money (ours) and ego (theirs) to see any change in the way they work.

The police are the ultimate 'big state' people, they have a dependency culture like the lovers of big government which makes a crack habit look manageable.

The end will always justify the means and their 'role', spending our money, will go on and on.

Verity

July 31st, 2009 4:43pm Report this comment

As so often, well said Rhoda K!

Greystead

July 31st, 2009 4:46pm Report this comment

I must admit to be somewhat confused. On the one hand we have campaigns by those called in another comment "we liberals, you libertarians and really anyone else amendable to evidence" to in effect make large quantities of recreational drugs freely available. On the other hand we force pharmaceutical companies to spend thousands of millions of pounds per year to investigate the effects, good and bad of new medicines that are developed to treat or prevent illnesses. So if I follow the logic here correctly, we are to permit recreational drugs which have plenty of evidence of doing harm to be available with no need to undertake investigations into safety, efficacy and quality. Medicinal drugs are to continue to be subject to tight controls and infringemetns subject to the full might of the law.

Perhaps the answer to the high cost of new medicines in now staring us in the face, merely classify them as recreational and we can get them on the street corner much more cheaply.

The only problem then would be that "we liberals etc.." would have the evil pharmaceutical companies to rail against.