Rat on a rat

These people have all the air of respectability, but they are hardened criminals intent on causing misery.

The police are launching their Rat on a Rat scheme, urging members of the public to contact them about drug dealing in their area and so combat this evil crime...

THEY make their daily commute into work on the train among the suited and booted bound for another day at the office.

Looking just like any other weary worker, a faceless nobody who you've probably sat next to and instantly forgot the moment they left the carriage.

Yet these people are not bound for the office. In their bag you will not find spreadsheets, accounts or a computer presentation.

They are, in fact, headed for the city streets to peddle their wares. And it is the vulnerable and desperate addict who buys what they sell in order to survive.

These people deal in drugs, hard drugs, and they come to cities like Southampton with routine efficiency in order to sell to whoever will buy - and there's never a shortage of those who will buy.

As police launch their crackdown on drug dealing in the city today it is these people they want to target, those who feed the addictions of drug users who then prey on the law-abiding public to pay them off.

Such is the sophistication of dealers that gone are the days of widespread drug dens. It is the streets where the vast amount of drug transactions occur.

The dealing is invariably done on street corners and organised over mobile phones.

Dealers use multiple names and places and it is this rootless arrangement that makes it difficult for police to keep tabs on when and where it happens.

Information is the key to disrupting the supply of drugs in Southampton and that, say the police, is where the public can help.

Leading the drug intelligence gathering in Southampton is a team of officers who assess, research and ultimately act upon the tip-offs they receive.

Det Sgt Damon Kennard, of the Southampton based unit said the flexibility and organisation of drug dealing in Southampton, like other big cities, is remarkable.

"It is effectively a commute to work for the dealers. They use the trains and sometimes the roads to come into the big cities like Southampton from London or Birmingham.

"They know, for example, they will be in Southampton on Monday, then Oxford on Tuesday, then somewhere else every day after that. It is a job for these people.

"Drug dealing is very much done on the move now, it is a dynamic process and that makes it very difficult to keep up with. Policing of drug dealers has moved with that change.

"Gone are the days of us putting doors through and raiding addresses where we know dealing is happening. Although we do that from time to time, it is regarded as old hat now we have to look at new ways of catching the commuting drug dealers."

Police are replacing the battering ram with the more covert ways of catching the dealers. Police use the latest technology to scan number plates of vehicles coming into the city that could identify it as being wanted in connection with drug or any other offences.

Undercover dog patrols are also deployed for use at stations like Southampton Central. The dogs are trained to detect whether anyone getting off the train has handled drugs or has drugs on them.

Tactical cycle teams are also used to great effect, as they are able to keep up with the street dealers more effectively than obvious car patrols.

Intelligence is already at an all-time high and it is up to officers to refine the tip-offs they receive and turn them into information that can result in an arrest.

As reported in the Daily Echo last month, police in Hampshire are making an average of seven drugs seizures every day - a 600 per cent rise in drug seizures when compared to the previous decade's figures.

"The more we look for drugs, the more we find. That is the reality of drugs these days," said Det Sgt Kennard.

The launch today is aimed at raising the public's awareness on how dealing is done on the city's streets and why information is vital if they are to tackle the scourge of drugs head on.

Det Sgt Kennard said: "The public may be under the impression that drugs has nothing to do with them or has no effect on them. In fact about 90 per cent of all acquisition crime - where property is stolen in a buglary or vehicle crime, is committed by people who steal to pay for drugs.

"They live day to day hand to mouth to feed their habit.

"The people that we deal with for taking drugs do not live in the lap of luxury, they live in squalor and filth. They would steal jewellery worth thousands of pounds for the cost of one wrap of drugs, so desperate is their addiction. We need to stop the supply by disrupting the dealers and that is why this campaign is important."

Rat on a Rat is being launched across the county today by Hampshire police and Crimestoppers. Hampshire's Chief Constable, Paul Kernaghan, will be in Southampton in an effort to raise the public's awareness about how they can help stamp out dealing.

He said: "There is no doubt that the abuse of illegal drugs is a significant crime generator.

"Hampshire Constabulary is committed to problem-solving policing - tackling the causes of crime not the symptoms.

"Through Rat on a Rat we are urging members of the public to contact Crimestoppers with information about drug dealing in their area and help make Hampshire and Isle of Wight even safer places to live, work and visit."