TARGETING STREET DEALERS STOPS CRIME

David Dixon and Lisa Maher may be right in their contention that the fall in
arrests of street-level drug trafficking in Cabramatta came about because
police switched their focus to "cleaning-up" the area (Herald, March 20).

However, they also suggest that the fall in arrests of street-level heroin
traffickers may be a good thing because police are now concentrating their
efforts on high-level traffickers. In support of this view, they cite
national reports indicating that "catching one big fish is better than a net
full of minnows".

Actually, international research suggests the opposite. Drug markets are
more easily disrupted by targeting street dealers than by targeting the "Mr
Bigs". Street-level drug traffickers are also the primary means by which
burglars dispose of stolen goods. Their removal from circulation helps
disrupt this market.

The real issue is whether police disruption of illegal markets helps limit
the harm they cause. To answer that question you have to ask what would
happen if police significantly scaled back their efforts in Cabramatta and
elsewhere.

Don Weatherburn, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, Sydney, March
21.