Drugs

ANALYSIS: With illicit drug use increasing by 20% over the past decade, University of York Honorary Fellow and Associate Professor Ian Hamilton looks at the scale of the harm done by drugs around the world, the changing trends in supply and demand, and calls for a “complete shift” in the way governments and societies recognise and respond to what has become a global threat.

ANALYSIS: Recent arrests and seizures suggest that drug traffickers are increasingly switching to chemically concealed cocaine (CCC) to move tonnes of shipments around the world, successfully passing through ports and airports undetected; in the first in a series of articles on CCC and organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Dalby looks at the background of this seismic shift in drug trafficking, the scale of the problem, and what steps law enforcement can take to meet some of the key challenges.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Merseyside Police is leading the fight against serious and organised crime, with the support of the Chorus Intelligence Suite (CIS). The cutting-edge digital investigation platform has been instrumental in enabling Merseyside Police to break down drug supply chains, protect vulnerable individuals, and secure vital convictions against high-profile offenders.

ANALYSIS: The rapid growth in the global use of new synthetic opioids (NSOs) including fentanyl and nitazenes prompted the UK’s National Crime Agency to warn last year that “there has never been a more dangerous time to take [illegal] drugs”; Dr Philip Berry, a Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College London and expert on the international drugs trade, looks at the background to the growth in NSOs, the nitazene ‘boom’ and the global heroin market, and what lessons the UK and Europe can learn from the US experience.

FEATURE: As the Pacific Islands has increasingly become a transit hub and a destination for drug trafficking, the impact on the male workforce – including in the recruitment of male police officers – could worsen significantly; policing and law enforcement specialist Dr Melissa Jardine looks at the implications for both policing and the communities in the Islands, and what steps can be taken to tackle the issue.

ANALYSIS: A new report from the Centre for Social Justice is calling on the UK Government to rethink its drug policy and focus on an approach which integrates law enforcement, public health and community support to tackle a crisis of “unprecedented proportions”; but the report also warns that experiences in other countries suggest legalisation is not the answer, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: A report from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change warns that UK’s current policing model is “fundamentally ill-suited” to tackling the huge threat of serious and organised crime, and urges the Government to establish a single UK-wide police force to lead on all crimes and threats that cross force boundaries, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: With cuckooing – the exploitation of vulnerable people by drug gangs who take over their home – not currently classified by the Home Office as a specific crime, the true scale of the problem in the UK remains unclear; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to North-West Regional County Lines Co-ordinator DI Adam Norton, and Intelligence Analyst and PhD candidate Ruth Lewin, about the nature of the crime, and what more can be done to identify and improve support for victims while also strengthening enforcement.

FEATURE: The recent Safety of Our Cities conference in Ontario, Canada, highlighted the continuing debate between closer collaboration with other agencies or tougher enforcement of existing legislation as the way forward to cutting crime and ensuring the safety of urban communities; Policing Insight’s Matthew Wood looks at some of the key points put forward by chiefs and politicians from various jurisdictions.

OPINION: New figures have revealed that drug-related deaths in England and Wales have reached record levels, with a significant increase in deaths linked to cocaine use among the worrying figures; Ian Hamilton, Honorary Fellow (Associate Professor) at the University of York, and Professor Harry Sumnall of Liverpool John Moores University, explore the possible reasons behind the latest data, and consider what can be done to address the challenges.

ANALYSIS: The increase in drug-related extreme violence and the scale of drug seizures across Europe suggest Mexican and South American cartels already view the EU as the ideal location for expansion; former DEA Special Agent Michael Brown, Global Director of Counter-Narcotics Technology at Rigaku Analytical Devices, believes steps can be taken by European governments and law enforcement to thwart that expansion – but will require political will, increased co-operation, and better use of technology.

ANALYSIS: With two court cases now underway in relation to fatal attacks at this year’s Notting Hill Carnival, and the Metropolitan Police’s public order lead highlighting that officers at the event are increasingly being drawn into stewarding rather than policing roles, Policing Insight’s Graham Wettone looks at continuing concerns around the location and increased crowd numbers attending the event, and warns of the growing risk of a public safety disaster unless changes are made.

INTERVIEW: Human trafficking and exploitation stretches far beyond borders. Former MPS Superintendent Bernie Gravett who led the first joint trafficking investigation in Europe and who now specialises in counter-trafficking training tells Policing Insight’s Contributing Editor Sarah Gibbons that training overseas officers is key to helping tackle serious and organised crime in the UK.

OPINION: While attempts to tackle the issue of illegal drugs through decriminalisation in the US and Canada have been less than successful, former Police Scotland Superintendent Martin Gallagher argues that as traditional enforcement measures have failed, it’s time for a bolder approach to drug use and consumption, with regulating, legitimising and taxing supply a crucial step towards true change and rehabilitation.

FEATURE: The latest United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime World Drug Report highlights record levels of cannabis and cocaine use – with an accompanying rise in violence – and the increased agility of traffickers who are expanding their criminal activities into areas such as wildlife trafficking, illegal resource extraction and money laundering, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: With the ongoing fentanyl crisis claiming hundreds of lives ever day in North America, a new class of synthetic opioids – nitazenes – is causing real concern both in the US and more widely, including the UK, Canada and Australia; former Ottawa Police Service Chief Vernon White takes a closer look at the background to both the growth of fentanyl, the emergence of nitazenes, and the steps countries are taking to tackle the threat.

Analysis: The latest National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program report from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission suggested a 17% increase in drug consumption over the previous 12 months; the Australian Strategic Policy Institutes John Coyne believes that more attention should be paid to these sophisticated analyses, and that the findings highlight the need for a new approach to drug policies that should incorporate wider harm reduction and prevention strategies.

OPINION: The influx of county lines drug gangs from English cities into Scotland has led to increased violence and the exploitation of local youngsters; but SNP Policing spokesman Allan Dorans argues that a desire among the mainstream media not to raise racial tension or anti-English sentiment has led to a lack of coverage of the issues which has had consequences for policing.

FEATURE: In January the Global Law Enforcement & Public Health Association (GLEPHA) published a series of reports as part of the ‘Envisaging the future of policing and public health’ project, covering a range of topics including harm reduction, diversion, and policing mental health; in the sixth in a series of seven articles, Policing Insight’s Thomas James looks at GLEPHA’s report on policing key populations.

FEATURE: An operation launched by Thames Valley Police to use in-house drug testing in possession with intent to supply cases has cut delays in bringing cases to court, improved outcomes and proved effective in taking dealers off the street, with other forces now looking to implement the same approach, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: The popularity of various illicit drugs changes regularly, with substance preference of users often dictated by the choices of manufacturers, logistical challenges and geopolitical events; Associate Professor Ian Hamilton of the University of York, and Professor Harry Sumnall of Liverpool John Moores University, highlight four street drugs that could pose a significant UK health threat in 2024.

INNOVATION: In the final instalment in a series exploring Essex Police’s Hothouse technology innovation programme, Policing Insight examines how the force is adopting new approaches to tackle drug-driven violence, and what it tells us about how policing could work with the tech sector, as James Sweetland reports.

FEATURE: Overdoses of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, which kills twice as many US citizens and 10 times as many Canadian people than firearms each year, are starting to increase in the UK and Europe; Vernon White, former Chief of Ottawa Police Service, and Joe Carlebach, former Hammersmith and Fulham councillor, explore the efforts being made to stem the supply of the precursor ingredients from China, and manufactured, street-grade fentanyl from Mexico and Canada.

FEATURE: Drug-drivers convicted in the South Tees area (policed by officers in Cleveland) will become the first in the UK to be offered an educational course to reduce reoffending – similar to the drink-drive rehabilitation scheme – under a pilot programme which, if successful, could be rolled out nationwide, as Policing Insight’s Thomas James reports.