WE MUST ALL FIGHT WAR ON DRUGS

Police Chief Vows To Tackle The Scourge On Our Society And Make The
Streets Feel Safe

As the police hunt for the dealers who pushed drugs to Dean Clarke,
Assistant Chief Constable for Crime Operations Peter Sheridan,
writing exclusively for the Belfast Telegraph, makes a plea for
grassroots help in gathering hard evidence

Drugs strike at the very hearts of our communities. They kill. They
ruin lives. Make no mistake about it, as a society we are all
involved in a battle against the drug dealers. The Police Service is
right there in the front line of that battle.

The death of 16-year-old Dean Clarke is a tragedy for his family, his
friends and for the whole community in the Tigers Bay area of
Belfast. Understandably, it has triggered high emotions.

People want answers. There are answers. But they are neither simple
nor straightforward.

The sad reality is that drugs are a part of daily life in Northern
Ireland from the largest city to the smallest village. It is naive to
think otherwise.

People in all social classes take drugs - sometimes as a fashion or a
form of recreation.

Of course they are neither. They are a plague on our society. And
those who deal in them deal in death and misery.

The Police Service is determined to keep the pressure on drugs
dealers. It is one of our priorities. But it is also a priority which
is translated into action. Much of the action is supported by communities.

But we can and should expect more.

We will play our part. But there are many others who have a part to
play in this - the parent, the politician, the teacher, the
clergyman, the community leader, the individual citizen.

As a Police Service we use local information and intelligence. We use
the latest technologies.

From the neighbourhood officer on the beat through to the specialist
officers in the Drug Squad or Tactical Support Groups, we are
committed to take on the drugs dealers.

And we have had significant success. The 2006/07 crime figures show
that the number of people arrested for drug-related offences
increased by almost 20%. The number of seizures involving Class A
drugs increased by 58.8% and the number of seizures involving Class B
drugs increased by 33.1%.

In north Belfast the number of people arrested for drug offences
increased by 80% and the number of seizures has increased by 6.5%.

In the six months from April to September 2007, drugs with an
estimated street value of UKP1,659,914 have been seized by police.

Since September, Drug Squad officers have charged 13 people with drug
and money laundering related offences, and in doing so have
dismantled three organised crime gangs who were responsible for
supplying cocaine and cannabis throughout Northern Ireland.

Such action impacts significantly on the availability of drugs
throughout the province.

The facts are that where there is evidence of drug crime being
committed, police will take appropriate action to ensure those
responsible are brought to justice.

Sadly in the emotional aftermath of Dean Clarke's death some of the
debate has moved to accusations about 'informants being protected by police'.

Let me be very clear about this. Intelligence is vital to all
policing operations.

Intelligence used by police has saved lives, resulted in arrests and
led to results in the recovery of drugs, weapons and illegal materials.

And also let me be very clear that information sources are not above
the law. Individuals who operate outside their authorisation will be
liable to arrest and prosecution in the same way as any other person
who breaks the law.

There are stringent internal and external mechanisms in place to
ensure intelligence is handled and managed properly, and the policies
and procedures which we use to authorise and handle intelligence
sources are subject to regular review. We have a set of policies and
procedures in place which will withstand any scrutiny.

When the media spotlight moves off the tragic events in Tigers Bay to
focus on another story and the people in that community are left to
pick up the pieces, the Police Service will continue to be there
policing the area, working to prevent crime and safeguard the community.

We work well with communities and their representatives. We welcome
the support that we already get. But the cold reality is that if we
are to get the drug dealers off the backs of vulnerable people, we
need more than just information.

We need hard evidence which will stand the tests in a court of law.
To get that evidence we need the continued support of local people.

If we get evidence and continue to work together, I believe we can
disrupt the criminals and make the streets and neighbourhoods safer
and feel safer.