Public urged to inform on drug dealers
Scottish First Minister Jack McConnell has launched a new campaign, funded by money confiscated from criminals, to urge the Scottish public to inform on drug dealers.
The advertising campaign, entitled “Dealers don’t care, do you?” is funded by money seized from convicted criminals under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Mr McConnell, said the new campaign was designed to tell ordinary, hard working Scots that their actions could make a difference.
He continued: “If you speak out you can get rid of dealers in your community. If you speak out, you can provide the evidence that the police need to put criminals behind bars.”
“We are determined to ensure that we hit dealers hard where it hurts most – in their pockets. And the more people who give anonymous information to Crimestoppers, the better chance we will have of taking money from criminals and reinvesting it in the communities hardest hit by drugs.”
The campaign is designed to be an “emotional trigger” to action, and will include local and national press adverts, beer mats in pubs and clubs and a poster campaign. Towards the end of March, there will also be a targeted direct main-out to the Scottish areas worst hit by drugs.
Assistant Chief Constable Norma Graham, speaking for the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, said: “Community intelligence is the lifeblood of our operations against drug dealers. If it were not for such vital information coming from the very heart of our communities our efforts to take drugs off the streets would be severely hampered.
“We have many examples of drug dealers being brought to justice because local people have had the courage to pick up the phone and tell us what they know about local drug dealers in their area.”
Annabel Goldie, the Scottish Conservative’s justice spokesman, said that while the campaign was welcome, the Executive needed to take “real action” and adopt a “zero policy approach to drugs.
“This means an end to the system of automatic early release for drug dealers, a zero tolerance policy for drugs in prisons, better and increased rehabilitation facilities and a reclassification of cannabis,” she concluded.
