A collection of news articles, reports, and publications available in the public domain, which are relevant to UK policing.
The Cumberland Lodge Report on gangs in the UK presents key-themes and recommendations that emerged from the Police Conference in June 2019 and a subsequent consultation held in October 2019.
Some of the recommendations for policing gangs included;
The report can be read in full here.
Source: Cumberland Lodge
The Home Secretary appointed Professor Dame Carol Black to undertake an independent review of drugs. This was to inform the government on what more can be done to tackle drug crime and its associated effects.
The report offers a holistic summary of bodies involved in drug issues such as prisons, The National Crime Agency, Law Enforcement, community as well as the accountability of the different sectors.
The independent report stated that over the past decade, priority of tackling drugs has fallen down for the police forces in England and Wales, partially due to the funding cuts and the emergence of other priorities. However, county lines issues have recently led to an increased focus by police.
Source: Gov.uk
The EDR produced by EMCDDA and Europol provides an analysis of drug situation and responses to it across the European Union, Norway and Turkey. The most recent findings include that the European drug market once dominated by imported plant-based substance has evolved, where now synthetics drugs have grown in importance and production takes place inside its borders. Overall, the drug market is resilient and reflective of developments taking place at global level. Established and newer illicit drugs continue to create a challenge for effective policy responses. New technologies and encryption are increasingly prevalent in drug dealing networks. The purity of drugs remains high and prices relatively low, proving high availability across the continent. According to the report, the drugs market is a recognised contributor to chronic and acute global health problems. EMCDDA and Europol address a holistic approach to drug control and prevention.
Source: EMCDDA
A Statutory Instrument has been made to amend the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The Instrument will amend Paragraph 1(ca) of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to reduce the range of synthetic cannabinoids controlled.
The Statutory Instrument will come into force 15 November 2019. It can be read in full here.
Source: Gov.uk
The Home Secretary Priti Patel has announced a number of new measures aimed at tackling county lines drugs gangs. The measures will be supported by a £20 million investment by the Home Office.
The measures include:
Source: Gov.uk
An article by the BBC has discussed the idea put forward by Dr Mohammed Qasim, a researcher at Leeds Beckett University, that county drug lines gang members are enrolling at university in order to gain alibis for moving to different cities.
Dr Qasim conducted his research in Swansea, where he infiltrated a county lines gang. He noted that living as a student gave gang members from ethnic minority backgrounds a way to blend in to predominantly white areas to minimise the chance of being arrested.
Source: BBC News
A government report looking into the rise of crack cocaine use in England has suggested that the issue stems from a lack of police officers on the street as well as aggressive marketing strategies by drug dealers. The report by Public Health England and the Home Office suggested that the drug was being delivered ‘quicker than a pizza’.
The growing issue of county lines drug dealing operations were also cited as a contributing factor, with three out of six areas visited as part of the report naming it as a significant problem.
In response to the government report, Rosanna O’Connor, director for drugs, alcohol, tobacco and justice at Public Health England said that further investment was needed to tackle the issue.
Source: The Guardian
Data from the National Crime Agency (NCA) have revealed that cases of modern slavery involving UK minors has increased from 676 in 2017 to 1421 in 2018, two-thirds of which were linked to labour exploitation.
County lines drug gangs are targeting children from disadvantaged households and offering them large sums of money to sell Class A drugs in rural areas.
Source: The Independent
A pilot study about the use of biometric technology to identify drugs traffickers visiting prisons has been successful according to an article in Police Professional. The technology will be used to tackle the paper based identification system that is currently in use, but ineffective due to the easiness to falsify documents.
The technology notifies staff of suspicious people meaning it should be easier to refuse them entry. However, the technology if not without controversy with the Facial Recognition Working Group of the Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group outlining an ethical framework that would need to be implemented when using the technology.
Source: policeprofessional.com
The Scottish Affairs Committee has launched an inquiry into drugs misuse in Scotland. On a visit to Crew 2000 on 4th March, the Committee launched the inquiry looking at why there has been an increase in problem drug use and drug related deaths.
The inquiry will also look into whether the Scottish Government has sufficient power to implement treatment and prevention strategies that could tackle the issue and whether the Scottish and UK Governments are working together effectively to deal with the problem.
As well as its own inquiry, the Committee is calling for written evidence on a number of topics which can be found here, relating to the issue.
Source: parliament.uk
Police Horizon Scanning 