Waging war on Bristol's drug dealers

Nigel Dando
BBC News Online in Bristol

A massive police operation in St Paul's, Bristol, has resulted in 29 people being charged with drugs and firearms offences. What is that likely to mean for this beleaguered area?

Police have been battling to combat the drugs trade in the St Paul's area of Bristol for years.

It is a common occurrence for people living in the area to see drugs deals taking place outside their front doors.

More than 1,000 people have been arrested under the long-running police targeting of drug pushers, codenamed Operation Atrium.

Drugs and guns were seized in the raids

Guns and drugs have been seized and a number of dealers either jailed or deported.

But the picture until now has changed little - it is one thing taking dealers off the streets, quite another stopping others taking over what is an extremely lucrative trade.

This latest police operation had been planned for months.

The aim - to rid the streets of St Paul's once and for all of the drugs problem blighting the area.

The police are confident that it is a goal that they can achieve.

Most of the people who live here want nothing to do with drugs Chief Superintendent Mike Roe

Chief Superintendent Mike Roe is head of the central Bristol police district and has been overseeing the operation.

Chief Supt Roe said he believed that police were winning the war against drugs dealers - and that their policy was backed by the vast majority of people living in and around St Paul's.

He said: "Most of the people who live here want nothing to do with drugs. Unfortunately, this area has a reputation as somewhere people can come to buy drugs.

"What we are saying is that the people who live here do not want that to be happening and we are here to do something about it.

"We have certain strategies in place and long-term policies to combat the drugs problem in this area and ensure that the dealers know that they will not be tolerated in this neighbourhood."

'Questionable'

The latest operation has been welcomed by community leaders, but they are concerned that it will not drive the dealers out of St Paul's.

The Rector of St Paul's, the Reverend David Self, said: "I am a strong supporter of what the police have been doing here.

There is no evidence to show the benefits of pursuing a prohibitionist policy Danny Kushlick, director Transform

"But it is questionable if the dealers will disappear totally from this area, in spite of what the police have been doing."

Transform, the national charity campaigning for a reform, of the drugs laws, has also been monitoring events in St Paul's.

Its director, Danny Kushlick, said he, too, welcomed what police had been doing in St Paul's.

But he said a change in he law was the only way to curb the problem of drug dealers in St Paul's and other inner-city areas of the country.

Mr Kushlick said: "There is no evidence to show the benefits of pursuing a prohibitionist policy.

"If we admit that the war on drugs has been lost, we are forced to recognise that rather than botching the attempt to eliminate drugs we must regulate and manage their distribution.

"The options for regulation are over-the-counter sales, on and off-licence sales, pharmacy sales and medical prescription."