Blog: ‘Power vacuum’
The commission accepts that police, together with the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), are already trying to assess and tackle the problems the drug trade causes communities.
It claims a survey of 427 police and other enforcement agency staff provides support for its case to change focus.
About 90% of respondents said it was “unlikely” the UK drug market would be wiped out in the near future.
Only 21% said current targets - relating to arrests and seizures - were a good measure of the harms caused by dealing.
While the commission accepts limiting supply is important, its report claims that in the UK’s entrenched drugs markets, arrests can lead to damaging unintended consequences.
For example, the arrested dealer may be replaced by someone who is more violent.
Arresting one king-pin drug dealer also raises the possibility of creating a power vacuum, with the resulting turf war and spike in violence, says the report.
Humberside Chief Constable Tim Hollis, the Association of Chief Police Officers’ drugs spokesman, said the police’s commitment to neighbourhood policing reflected a “desire to listen to community concerns and take action that will contribute towards improving the lives of local people”.
Soca director of intelligence David Bolt said impact on communities was already being taken into account.
He acknowledged “an intelligent combination of traditional law enforcement alongside new and innovative approaches” was needed to tackle the harm caused by the drugs trade.
The Home Office said “tough enforcement is a fundamental part” of their strategy but also acknowledged the complexity of the problem.
A spokesman said: “We are not complacent; communities do not want to be blighted by the effects of drug misuse and drug dealing.
“That is why police, local authorities and communities must continue to work together so that our streets and communities can be free from the crime and anti-social behaviour they cause.”
