Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (13)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Best, D.
Right arrow Articles by Gossop, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

The British Journal of Criminology 41:738-745 (2001)
© 2001 Centre for Crime & Justice Studies (formerly ISTD)

Assessment of a Concentrated, High-Profile Police Operation. No Discernible Impact on Drug Availability, Price or Purity

David Best, John Strang, Tracy Beswick and Michael Gossop

National Addiction Centre/Institute of Psychiatry, 4 Windsor Walk, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 8AF.

Two weeks after the start of a major police initiative targeting drug dealing in London (described by the Metropolitan Police as a ‘spectacular success’), 174 street drug users were interviewed about drug price, availability and purity. Only seven users reported price increases for any drug, with the majority stating that there had been no change in any market features. This basic pattern was not influenced by whether the users were aware of the operation, whether they lived in the areas directly affected or by the number of different dealers that they used to purchase their drugs. Paradoxically, any perceived changes were more likely to be ‘improvements’ in the market than deterioration (i.e. lower price, greater availability and higher levels of purity). There is limited evidence from the current study to support the assertion that targeted policing will impact on the accessibility, price or quality of heroin, cannabis or crack cocaine.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Criminal JusticeHome page
P. Reuter and A. Stevens
Assessing UK drug policy from a crime control perspective
JCriminology and Criminal Justice, November 1, 2008; 8(4): 461 - 482.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Police QuarterlyHome page
L. Mazerolle, D. Soole, and S. Rombouts
Drug Law Enforcement: A Review of the Evaluation Literature
Police Quarterly, June 1, 2007; 10(2): 115 - 153.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 CMAJHome page
E. Wood, P. M. Spittal, W. Small, T. Kerr, K. Li, R. S. Hogg, M. W. Tyndall, J. S.G. Montaner, and M. T. Schechter
Displacement of Canada's largest public illicit drug market in response to a police crackdown
Can. Med. Assoc. J., May 11, 2004; 170(10): 1551 - 1556.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 CMAJHome page
E. Wood, M. W. Tyndall, and M. T. Schechter
Drug supply and drug abuse
Can. Med. Assoc. J., April 29, 2003; 168(9): 1113 - 1113.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.