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.