IT'S the police version of shock and awe - high-profile, early-morning raids on the homes of suspected drug dealers, attracting headlines and terrorising the criminal community.
But a new study of what drug users think of Scottish drug laws suggests such police tactics have little impact - especially when it comes to the market in hard drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine. While raids are often an unpleasant surprise for targets, particularly if young children or elderly relatives are present, users say any effect is short-lived. For some, it is just days, or even hours, before local drugs markets are rebuilt and fully functioning again. One interviewee said: "Dealers maybe stop for a day or two and then they'll go back to it. They'll just not give a f***." Another, asked how long it takes to "plug the gap" if a dealer is removed, said: "Less than 24 hours." A third responded: "No sooner are they out of the police station and they are back again."
The interviews suggest heroin markets are so well organised they can cope with large seizures and arrests and stay intact. The authors of the research paper, Nicked: Drug Users' Views of Drug Enforcement, have suggested law enforcement might have a bigger impact by seizing dealers' assets - the source of their power - rather than seeking to arrest them. The survey was conducted by Glasgow's Centre for Drug Misuse Research and Glasgow University's School of Social and Political Sciences.
