ACPOS Scottish Drugs Conference 2009

The annual ACPOS drugs conference (17th-18th March 2009) at Dalmahoy, near Edinburgh, will hear calls for greater global co-operation to combat the economic recession, with a rallying cry for countries and agencies to stand together against the drugs trade - or risk becoming isolated ‘victims’ of multi-national crime networks.

Over the next two days around 200 international delegates will hear contributions from Europol, the head of the Dutch National Crime Squad, Community Safety Minister Fergus Ewing, and senior figures from Scottish and UK policing on how they are working together to tackle the harm caused by this cynical and ruthless trade at home and abroad.

This year’s conference theme is:

While the vast majority of people in society do not misuse drugs, there is a significant minority which causes substantial costs to our justice, health and social systems.

It is a challenge to the police to reduce the harm to our communities from drugs: We therefore strive to find measures of the harms caused by drugs and the impact of our actions. Meaningful measures are hard to find – seizures and arrests only reflect part of the picture.

Every arrest and conviction of a drug dealer is a success and reassures people in the community who are affected daily by the associated anti-social behaviour caused by drug misuse. That said, the long-term impact of enforcement activity is challenged by the demand for drugs in our society.

Drug traffickers increasingly seek to import drugs directly into Scotland by air and sea and it is likely that the financial situation across the world will affect markets and cause changes in trends as well as shifts in demand or supply.

We have a role to play in working with partners to reduce harm. There continues to be a greater understanding of the harms associated with illicit drugs and these continue to pose significant risks for users. While cannabis remains the most misused drug, the numbers of those who use cocaine are believed to have grown. The harms associated with cannabis have been acknowledged and recently caused an upward reclassification.

At home, efforts to improve the health and lifestyles of children and young people continue through substance misuse education. The new curriculum in Scottish schools is providing additional opportunities for partners to work more closely to provide appropriate and relevant inputs. This will provide children and young people with reliable information and should allow them to make positive choices now and in the future.

Our revised drugs strategy aims to build safer and stronger communities through the principle of recovery. It will be supported by strong leadership and realistic objectives which place a reduction of supply, a reduction of harm and a reduction of demand at its heart. Its purpose is to provide guidance for police officers planning strategic as well as tactical activity.

This year’s conference gives delegates an opportunity to examine these issues. It has a strong international flavour and will allow delegates to learn about activities that have taken place over the year as well as important developments that will unfold in the future. We will take this opportunity to consider how we can further support the Scottish Government’s strategy to promote recovery and how we can work more closely with partners to reduce the harms effectively.