A LAW ENFORCEMENT/EDUCATION AGENT
This
man has worked for the police for a number of years, and currently combines his
law enforcement role with drug education for the public, including schools and
youth organisations. In essence, the roles of law enforcement have become fused
together, rather than being separate entities. Many groups within society rely
on the police to educate them on issues such as heroin, and it is these groups
that also expect the police to enforce the law by arresting heroin addicts.
HAVE YOU NOTICED AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF HEROIN ADDICTS IN THIS TOWN OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS? AND IF SO TO WHAT EXTENT?
The
answer is yes, definitely. 10 years ago there was hardly any, and I am talking
about from the policing side of things. There was not much heroin on the
streets then, but now it is the biggest concern in XXXXXX. I would say that
the number of people who use heroin has probably quadrupled in the last 10
years.
THAT MUST BE BASED ON
OFFICIAL POLICE STATISTICS, BASED ON WHO YOU ARREST. TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU
THINK THERE IS A HIDDEN POPULATION?
That’s
very difficult to answer. We don’t just arrest heroin users for possession of
heroin or intent to supply. They get arrested for other crimes and it is very
difficult for me to say to you that x amount of heroin users have been arrested
for burglary, theft, criminal damage. . .Drug users have got to support their
drug habits somehow.
I WAS TOLD THERE WERE ABOUT
1500 USERS AND ADDICTS IN THIS TOWN. IS THIS FIGURE REALISTIC?
I just
don’t know. As far as the police are concerned we now have a full time drug
councilor working at the police station. We may be able to produce the sort of
figures you want. Passing through the cells each year there are probably about
3000 in the XXXXXXX area. . .and at least ¾ of those have got some sort of
drug habit, but whether it is heroin or not, it may be other drug abuse. I just
don’t know.
WOULD YOU SAY THAT XXXXXXX
IS IN THE GRIPS OF A HEROIN EPIDEMIC?
I
don’t think just XXXXXXXX, I think the whole country is in the grips of a
heroin epidemic.
WOULD YOU SAY THAT A MORAL
PANIC ACCOMPANIES THIS PHENOMENON?
I
would have to say that 2 years ago there was a great panic, but now it has
turned into something that is a lot more controlled, and people are working,
different agencies and voluntary groups are trying to make people understand
heroin, that is what its all about and also enforcing it in a different way as
well. I don’t think there is a panic now, I think there is a great concern and
I think that society and the community have got a right to be concerned.
THE XXXXXXX JOURNAL HAS
SHOWN A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF ARTICLES RELATED TO HEROIN, AND IT
IS STILL INCREASING YEAR AFTER YEAR?
I'm
not surprised because it is the drug that causes most concern
nation-wide-because there is so much of it on our streets.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT
(SCHEMATIC MODEL SHOWN) WOULDN’T YOU SAY THAT THE PANIC CAUSED IS A DIRECT
RESULT OF THE DRAMATIC INCREASE IN ARTICLES?
A
lot of people are influenced by the media. I don’t like the word panic; I like
the word concern and I think there is a lot of concern about the use of heroin,
not just of the effect on the user, but the effect on the community as well. I
think the local paper may over highlight sometimes, but there is a concern
within the community. That increase in the Journal certainly shows it, but I
wouldn’t call it a panic.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE
MAIN CAUSE OF THE INCREASE?
I
think it’s the drug being more readily available to be honest. As I say, 10
years ago there was heroin on he streets of XXXXXXX, but it wasn’t readily
available and the cost was a lot more than it is now. Now there is more on the
streets and the cost has significantly come down. It’s only about a fiver for a
tenth of a gram now.
WHAT ABOUT THE ROLE OF THE
PUSHER/PEER PRESSURE?
That
all comes into it, but if you don’t have the availability of the drug in the
first place the people are not going to be able to use it. But yes peer
pressure is a great thing isn’t it.
SO IS THE MARKET LEANED MORE
TOWARD THE SUPPLY OR DEMAND ASPECT?
I
think if it wasn’t heroin it would be something else. Now we are starting to
get a lot of cocaine in. I think there is a demand now (heroin) but supply is
more than matching that.
A LOT OF RESEARCH SUGGESTS
THAT HEROIN USE IS A PROGRESSION FROM SMOKING HASH. DO YOU AGREE?
It’s
very difficult to be specific. National statistics say that 25% of people who
use marijuana, cannabis, whacky baccy, go on to use other substances. Whether
that substance is heroin. You could start with amphet and then go on to heroin.
But more so now people are using heroin as a first drug . . . which is quite
frightening really. But cannabis-yes there is a definite link, Id say that 25%
sounds about right.
SO YOU ARE GREATLY
CONCERNED?
Absolutely.
DOES THE LAW LOOK TO
PRIMARILY PUNISH OR TREAT THE HEROIN ADDICT?
You
have got to say why the law is there first of all-its their to protect the
community. It’s not their to either give assistance to the heroin addict or to
punish, it is there to protect society. That is the first rule of law
enforcement if you like. What we have to do is get the balance right between
the punishment of the user and the assistance and help for the user.
BUT HOW DO YOU THINK THE LAW
STANDS ON THE TREATMENT ISSUE?
If
you mean the law in terms as where the police stand then I think the balance is
getting addressed. We now have a drug councilor working full time at the
station, who is there and available to give advice and counseling if people
want it. If people are arrested for possession, even small quantities of
heroin, they will be offered counseling rather than a caution or a court case.
So we are working towards helping and assisting the heroin user.
THE D.T.T.O. REHABILITATIVE
OR PUNISHMENT IDEALS?
I
would say that it is 50/50. It is too early to say whether the balance is going
to sway one way or the other. It hasn’t been in very long has it.
IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO
DEAL WITH PUSHERS TO INCARCERATE THEM?
Again
it is the situation of the protection of the community isn’t it. When you talk
about the pusher do you mean the street pusher, the pusher who gives it to them
or the big boy, who is raking in all the money? Lets face it they are only in
the heroin trade for the money.
THE POLICE CAN’T TOUCH THE
‘BIG BOYS’ THOUGH?
Well
we try but it is very difficult. Regarding pushers, we normally deal with
street pushers and the middle man . . .At the end of the day we need to get the
substances source, where its coming into the town and even the country. A lot
is getting in, and the problem is the quality of what’s getting in, and when it
hits the streets. That is the danger factor. To answer your question, if we
don’t deal with the pusher in terms of imprisonment, then what messages would
we be giving to other pushers? There has to be some finality with it. But you
can’t just deal with the incarceration of these people; we have to look at
their treatment as well.
SO WHY DO YOU THINK
INDIVIDUALS BECOME INVOLVED WITH HEROIN?
I
think with every substance it’s a simple case that we live in a society that
wants a quick fix-whatever it is in life you want it to happen right now. Every
young person has a situation where they are feeling down, and turn to a drug a
lot quicker than they would have done 10 years ago.
AT WHAT AGE ARE PEOPLE MOST
COMMONLY USING THE DRUG?
That
is very difficult to assess. The average age is 15-18 years old. I wouldn’t be
surprised if some 13-14 year old kids are using it though.
MY RESEARCH INTO HEROIN USE
IN SCHOOLS HAS SHOWN THAT AROUND 3% HAVE TAKEN HEROIN. IS THIS SIGNIFICANT?
I
would question what their understanding of heroin actually is. I do a lot of
schoolwork myself and am involved a lot in the education process and a lot of
kids will use ‘heroin’ when they actually mean cannabis. There is a big mix up;
there are a lot of street names for substances. As for the figures you’ve shown
me I would consider them to be low, they would startle parents, but to me it is
low. The figures you show me may be lower, due to misinformation, or they might
be higher, but it doesn’t surprise me.
DO YOU THINK THERE SHOULD BE
ANY NEW TYPES OF LEGISLATION INTRODUCED TO HELP CONTROL THE EPIDEMIC?
First
of all, in relation to drug testing on the streets, you have got to make it an
offence to actually use the substance, because at the moment offences are
supply, intent to supply, manufacture. . . There is no offence for taking
heroin unless you are behind the wheel of a car, of which that law came under
the misuse of drugs act 1971.
DO YOU THINK THAT CURRENT
LEGISLATION NEEDS LOOKING AT AGAIN? SHOULD THE POLICE BE GIVEN MORE POWER? ARE
THEY RESTRICTED IN WHAT THEY DO?
I
don’t think we are because the powers are there, what we don’t have the powers
for, such as to blood test someone who is causing hassle on the street in order
to find out what substance they had been using. I am very wary about giving the
police extra powers that we can’t use, cant enforce. We have powers to stop and
search and until legislation makes it an offence for someone to have used
heroin, then there is no point.
HOW IMPORTANT IS THE ETHOS
OF EDUCATION IN COMPARISON TO LAW ENFORCEMENT?
Absolutely
crucial. Most of my job entails giving drug awareness education to young people
and if we can get young people before they use/are offered an illegal substance
then it has got to be better than picking them off the streets when they’ve got
a bit of gear in their pockets. Education is more important now because of
Keith Halliwell, ‘
DO YOU SEE THE ROLE OF THE
LOCAL PAPER AS AIDING YOUR EDUCATION DRIVE, OR HARMING IT? (SHOWN NUMEROUS ARTICLES FROM THE PAPER)
I
don’t think it’s helpful. Heroin is a problem just as much in other areas as it
is in the one that the Journal highlights. It is a problem on the Earlsfield
and there are users up there, but there are those problems elsewhere. I think
the paper has got a responsibility not to terrify people but then again it must
report where there is an issue-it needs to get the balance right. I mean
‘HEROIN HELL ON THE EARLSFIELD’ is not a headline I would like to see used again.
I ONLY FOUND ONE STORY
THROUGHOUT MY REVIEW OF THE PAPER (7 YEARS) THAT LOOKED AT THE PROBLEM FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF THE USER. DON’T YOU THINK THAT THE PUBLIC IS ONLY SEEING HALF
THE PROBLEM?
That
half needs to be highlighted because it is a great danger isn’t it-kids have
picked up syringes and ended up in hospital . . .Also a lot of them (heroin
users) are committing crime to support their habit. The paper has got a
responsibility to state the facts, and I do agree with you in that if you can
get an angle from a users viewpoint, but the paper still needs to highlight
that a lot of drug related crime is committed.
DOES THE PAPER WORK CLOSELY
WITH THE POLICE?
We
have an association with them obviously, and we give them certain facts, when
we want something highlighted we will tell them. But we certainly would not
give them the headlines you were just telling me about.
HOW DO YOU SEE THE PROBLEM
BEING REMEDIED OR CONTROLLED?
Back
to education again, the absolute key, along with other things fitting into
place as well. But it’s getting to young people before they use, and
highlighting what heroin actually does to you-the good and the bad.
BUT WE ARE NOT JUST TALKING
ABOUT CHILDREN ARE WE. THE REST OF SOCIETY IS NAIVE AND MISINFORMED?
I
speak to adult groups as well. You way how are we going to control it, well in
the meantime through policing-we will continue to arrest people, deal with
people and get them the help they need and also put them through the court
system if necessary-all of this is in the short-term. In the long-term it is
education.
DO YOU THINK THE ‘CONCERN’
MIRRORS THE REALITY OF THE DRUG PROBLEM?
I
think the fear of crime is always greater than the actuality. And the headlines
in the Journal and things like that strike a lot of fear into people, and
because they do not know the truth about the drug and the substance it causes
them to worry more, to panic more. Lots of things have to come into place to
stop it and I think the concerns are justified, but we have to be careful that
we don’t over emphasise those concerns, that they don’t turn into irrational
concerns for people.
Copyright(C) 2007
- 2025. All rights reserved.