NCJ Number
194656
Date Published
November 2001
Length
95 pages
Annotation
This report attempts to describe how drugs are moved from importation to street level in the United Kingdom and attempts to map out the middle levels of the United Kingdom’s drug markets.
Abstract
Commissioned by the Home Office in the United Kingdom, this study was intended to improve the understanding of the middle market drug distribution system in the United Kingdom. The study argued that there were areas within the middle market where law enforcement agencies could disrupt the supply of drugs in an efficient manner. It utilized interviews with offenders imprisoned for drug dealing offenses. From the interviews an equal number of law enforcement representatives gained information on their understanding of the structure of drug markets along with 70 case studies to compare to the information obtained in prison interviews. It was the study’s intent to aim for a variety of different angles and perspectives. The study was divided into seven chapters: introduction; defining the middle market; the organization and price structure of United Kingdom drug markets; the internal organization of drug dealing networks; the role of violence; middlemen and go-betweens--the strategic role of the middle market drug broker; and conclusion. Study findings indicated that people’s perceptions of the operations of drug markets were highly fragmented, due partly to the actual structure of drug markets that were constantly changing while also being based on different tiers of intermediaries and middlemen. It was also noted as a consequence of some aspects of enforcement operations. In addition, there were different perceptions of as to what constituted the middle. An appendix included those case studies and vignettes. References