25 January 2021
In the 50th anniversary year of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, it is clearer than ever that the “war on drugs” has abjectly failed.
Our conurbation needs to talk about local drug-related crime, addiction, and anti-social behaviour. And the local Green Party would like your help in continuing to raise the issues and develop visions to make things better, in locally tailored and well judged ways.
Alasdair Keddie says: "I live in the Charminster area. Here and in neighbouring Queen’s Park, we have major issues with drug-related crime. Levels have been creeping up for some time. There's car crime, property damage, open drug dealing on the street, open intravenous drug use in the local playpark, and muggings in broad daylight.
"The impact is huge. People are almost expecting their cars to be broken into on a weekly basis. Recently there were six people smoking heroin in a playpark in the middle of the afternoon. It's now reached a level where dozens of residents are coming forward saying they are at the end of their tether. My wife has not wanted to take our two little girls to the playpark, for example, because it involves walking through an alleyway where there have often been people consuming Class A drugs."
We all know that parts of Boscombe have faced these issues for some considerable time. However 2-3 years ago a wave seemed to start spreading across a substantial part of Bournemouth – Springbourne, Charminster, Winton and Moordown – bringing entire communities down and causing misery.
Green Councillor for Winton East, Simon Bull says: “A lot of this is also going on in Winton. I’m seeing drug deals on my home streets, which is new for this neighbourhood. Cllr Rigby and I are meeting with Bournemouth neighbourhood police and talking to them about this. The issue is definitely on the increase, seemingly everywhere, and lockdown has made it more prevalent and open.”
Alasdair Keddie continues: "As a neighbourhood campaigner I was delighted recently when I was able to persuade BCP Council’s Head of CCTV to place a new 360-degree camera at a serious hotspot for Class A open drug deals and consumption, by the Wessex Way footbridge linking Charminster and Springbourne. We’ve let local residents know about this campaign success in a recent neighbourhood newsletter and social video, and many were delighted – however some did feed back 'isn’t this just going to push the problem somewhere else?' and are looking for action on the root causes.
"Local Green speakers are working on ways to engage with this, with what's really driving the problem. Our natural focus as Greens is on the broader root causes, not just a 'war on drugs"'.
"People are never seeing any police presence here, and residents feel ignored. My "local" Safer Neighbourhoods policing team as a Queen's Park resident is based in Winton. The community would like to be able to do something, yet residents increasingly perceive that police don't know the detail of what's going on in each neighbourhood."
Green Councillor Chris Rigby comments: “In this country we police drug use, but the police have no funds. We lost 'the war on drugs' about 20 years ago. There are two neighbourhood police officers and 2-3 PCSOs per large 'neighbourhood', it's hardly anything. Decriminalisation tackles the publicly visible petty crime. The Portugese model of decriminalisation has brought a rapid huge decrease in petty crime. What if we tackle it differently? However, for us as Greens, it's all about the delivery of our message. Bournemouth is not ready to become like Amsterdam. People are going round our town carrying machetes. It's not good."
Green Party of England & Wales drugs policy focuses on helping users on a health-led basis, rather than criminalising them. The 'Portugese model' has been a success, but would be considered revolutionary in the UK and especially in 'blue Dorset'. Meanwhile calls are starting to be made in this part of the world for provision of safe drug consumption rooms.
We want to be generally influencing the debate on policing, crime and justice in Urban Dorset. What 'middle ground' could we find to meet our local population where they are at the moment? This is the number-one local issue for many residents. Most people locally might be vaguely in favour of broader drug reform, but will find it hard to see past daily local crime and violence, with widespread outrage at specific vile crimes like a broad-daylight cycle-past robbery of a grandmother's handbag. We're concerned that the current levels of local public outrage could be tapped by reactionary short-termist rabble-rousers. So we’re continuing to work on this issue and how we put it out there in skilful ways.
And we'd like you to be a part of our work on this.
Please join us on Zoom from 7pm (till 9pm) this Wednesday, 29th January, for our first People’s Assembly on drug crime, addiction and anti-social behaviour. It’s hosted by BCP Green Party but open to Green Party members, supporters, and the general public across BCP.
**We don't post Zoom meeting links directly to the public Internet. It was emailed to BCP Green Party members and supporters on Monday 25th January. If you are not in receipt of the invite, please email contact@bcp.greenparty.org.uk to request an invite.**
