Criminal assets seizures are set to fuel drug drive

Using the strapline ‘The dogs on the street know the dealers but they can’t report them…you can!’ the campaign is encouraging people to use the confidential charity Crimestoppers to pass on information about drug dealing.

The campaign will be financed from the proceeds of criminal confiscations and will be co-ordinated by the Community Safety Partnership (CSP), District Policing Partnership (DPP), PSNI and Crimestoppers communities.

It will include a series of community education and awareness training sessions. These training sessions will be delivered by through community safety forums in the city and rural region and be tailored specifically to the needs identified by each forum.

Chairperson of the DPP, Councillor Thomas Conway said: “From the outset we were keen to engage with the community directly, in order to deliver educational/awareness sessions about drugs and the impact they have.

“Any campaign addressing drug dealing needs to embrace both the issue of enforcement and that of education. To date we have had a very positive response from community representatives regarding this element of the anti-drug dealing campaign.”

He continued: “This campaign aims to empower people to tackle the problem of drugs in their community by passing information on to Crimestoppers or learning about the help that is out there for families and individuals experiencing drug use.

“Drugs ruin lives and communities and this campaign is about highlighting the fact that everyone has a part to play in addressing the problem.”