Institutional racism in the police?

Yes I know that growstuff but I haven’t really come across it. I do know two of my children had the odd puff of cannabis during university years, but they didn’t continue with it. They’re all professional people now.

The stopping of cars randomly during the lockdown, intended to ask people where and how far they were travelling, resulted in a large drugs haul being discovered not far from here. I'm not sure if it was part of the recent NCA initiative.

I think you’re right Callistemon. As I said, I have little experience of either drugs or the police, but the way to prevent drugs coming in surely is the border force, which I think has been cut back in recent years. Plus good policing. I don’t think targeting black cars with tinted/black windows is the way forward. Maybe I’m an innocent abroad, but why would targeting certain cars help? Maybe the police should target the illegal quarantine raves which are reportedly happening over the country would bring better results, and since there’s no social distancing at these events, are illegal anyway.

maddyone You don't have to live in a "tough" area to come across parents who take drugs. I live in a fairly "naice" area and I know adults who take drugs. The difference is that they're rich enough to fund their habit without resorting to crime. When I worked in London, I also knew some city traders who took drugs, especially cocaine. Some of them had to be on a permanent high to deal with the highly pressurised environment, in which they worked.

The number and amount of Class A drugs seizures has gone up but is the increase proportionate to the amounts coming in? It is an enormous problem and needs international co-operation.

Gosh, one or two Gransnetters know a lot about drugs dealing. When I was teaching I worked in a ‘tough’ area and drugs were apparently used by some parents and certainly known about. However my only experience was whilst I was engaged in a home visit to a child about to start in Reception and I was with my Teaching Assistant as we never went alone. When we left the flat my TA asked me if I’d noticed what was on the coffee table. I said I hadn’t, what was it? Wacky Backy she said. I’d never seen it before and had not the first clue!
Anyway, my husband drives a black VW with tinted windows. Is he a drug dealer? No. Is he white? Yes. Has he been stopped by the police in the car? No.
I didn’t know certain cars were targeted by the police. We frequently drove in London when visiting our son who used to live there, and when taking our daughter up for her IVF treatments. We also used to go up to concerts and theatres and stay overnight in central London prior to lockdown. We were never stopped by police.

True Iam, my knowledge of European countries crime rates is nil.

Annie, we have extremely high crime rates linked to drug and alcohol use, which is much more of a problem in the Uk than in many other European countries. This country seems always to have had a problem with drugs and alcohol. Those 16th century Hogarth prints of Gin Alley etc.

Well said Iam - we can make no progress in social equality by demonising any particular sector or by closing our eyes to what we don’t want to see.

The "park dealers" round here are white, too, Iam64 and they drive elderly hatchbacks. My children used to know who they are/were and knew where they hung about. The police also knew, but they were more interested in following them up the line.

The European countries which have legalised drugs, do they
not have high crime rates caused by addicts with mental illness caused by the drugs ?

Annie - yes they're regularly reported, the police have a presence and it stops only to re-start the following week. Our force area was involved in the big operations in recent days to smash the big dealers.
Eloethan's comments about legalising as recommended by Prof Nutt remain an area I'm interested in. Other European countries who took that view seem to be doing much better in reducing the use of illegal drugs, as well as some of the crime associated with it.

Davidhs, your contributions to this discussion are at the very least provocative, I see one was deleted presumably because it was racist. * "Young black males do get stereotyped because the black community is heavily involved in the drug culture"*

Don't you realise the exact same phrase could be made replacing the word 'black' with 'white'. Our local park dealers are young white lads. We have a growing community of Africans who have been granted asylum status. Their teenage lads seem to be very active at the Church and we don't see them hanging round the park smoking drugs. I expect your response to that will be to point the finger at the Afro Caribbean community. Dare I suggest you get yourself off onto some equality training you certainly need it.

Meryl I agree.Ideally every drug dealer would be cleared off the streets asap.But a lot of undercover work must be done to track the source or drugs to the huge operations who also deal weapons and launder money.It takes a certain kind of bravery to go undercover and infiltrate these gangs.In the meantime I'm going undercover out walking my dogs hoping to see the person who for weeks hashabitually let their dog foul the sane spot each day and offer them a poo bag .Wish me luck !

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Washerwoman
They are not bothering with the little scrotes that sell their drugs on Southend high street ( my home town) or the teenagers whizzing round on their bikes making deliveries.
As has been proved by the huge bust this week ( well done the NCA) they are going after the big boys. Cut the snakes head off, as I say.

David
Your a bit behind the car of choice for dealers. It's now ( and has been for some time an Audi.

Trisher .Is that a fact .The police don't bother with drug dealers ?At all ?I must check that out with someone currently serving in the police where county lines are a huge problem rather than someone who retired ftom teaching 15 years ago.

It's 15 years since I stopped teaching and therefore over 20 years since I sat in a staff room and listened to others discussing a parent who was a'dealer'. At the time I thought they were talking about furniture or second hand goods. They weren't. It was known then, I would imagine it is more common now.

I expect they have been reported. There seem to be drug dealers everywhere. A couple we know reported to the police that people were dealing in an alleyway near their house. Nothing was done. We have a rather nice little park near us - a playing field where people walk their dogs and a children's playpark. There are often solitary men sitting on the seats, looking constantly at their mobile phones, obviously either waiting for a delivery or waiting for a customer.

I think the issue probably is that they are seen as "small fry" and the only reason the police might be interested in their movements is to see who, further up the line, is supplying the drugs for them to sell, and so on up the chain. In order to arrest and charge people, the police need to follow exactly the right procedures and obtain proof of a drug transaction involving money taking place, which can be quite tricky.

I'm inclined to agree with Professor David Nutt who the Labour government got rid of. He said the whole drug culture should be de-criminalised and drugs sold, in a controlled way, out of pharmacies. At least it would cut out criminal involvement and the grooming of children to transport drugs around.

Annie the police know who the local dealers are. They don't bother much with them unless they are seen as some sort of a threat and perhaps trading to very young children.

DD1 drove a black Landrover Discovery with blacked out windows.

The only time she was waved down by the police was when we went to our local EMMAUS together to search for a bookcase to upcycle.

We didn't know there was a Royal visit planned that morning and the policeman laughed and said he had mistaken us for Camilla Parker Bowles. We did wonder which one of us he was referring to.

We did a U turn and as we pulled out on to the main road Camilla turned up....in an identical vehicle. The only difference was hers had two outriders.

why are they not reported Iam ?

Maybe your NE drug dealers are more discreet than ours in the NW trisher. They don't all drive Audi's and BMW's, the lads who sell from our car park at our local park operate out of an old Corsa. I expect they're saving up for an old Audi.

The dealers I know about tend to operate in little used car parks and don't have cars. Can our NE drug deallers be less successful than their southern counterparts? Oh there was one who seemed a nice family bloke in a school I once taught in. Not sure he had a car though.

I could tell a tale or two!