Standing up for Dorset in Parliament: Government must act on organised crime

Last week, I appeared before the Home Affairs Select Committee to ensure Dorset’s voice was heard loud and clear in Parliament. My message to MPs was simple: serious and organised crime is evolving, becoming more sophisticated and more deeply embedded in communities, and Government must do more if they are serious about tackling it. Too often, people think organised crime is something that happens somewhere else. The reality is very different. Organised criminal gangs are operating in Dorset, profiting from drugs, exploitation, theft, money laundering and other criminal activity that causes harm in communities across our county. While the criminals themselves may be hidden, the impact is not. Residents see the consequences through anti-social behaviour, shoplifting, exploitation of vulnerable people, drug-related crime and the fear that organised criminality brings into local neighbourhoods.

Organised crime is not just a city problem. I told MPs that serious and organised crime in Dorset extends far beyond drugs. It lives in our rural communities, organised crime groups are increasingly involved in hare coursing, poaching, fly-tipping, waste crime, metal theft, and the theft of agricultural equipment. These offences can have a devastating impact on farming families and rural communities and too often leave victims feeling isolated and forgotten. These groups do not operate in parochial isolation. They treat crime as a business and exploit every opportunity to make money from as many sources as possible.

One of the strongest messages I delivered to the Committee was that we cannot simply ‘arrest’ our way out of this problem. Enforcement is not the only answer. The National Drugs Strategy, got the diagnosis right. It recognised the need for effective enforcement, treatment, and prevention. My concern is that implementation has stalled.  For too long, the focus has been on tackling the consequences of drug misuse rather than stopping people, particularly young people, from entering the cycle of drug use and exploitation in the first place. I challenged Government to renew its focus on prevention and invest in educating young people about the dangers of drugs before they become involved with criminal gangs. If we fail to do that, we will be having exactly the same conversation in 20 years’ time.

Action is needed on Ketamine and needed now! I highlighted my growing concern about ketamine use among young people to the panel. During the session, I urged Government to stop delaying decisions around ketamine classification and take decisive action. While politicians debate, the harms continue. We are seeing increasing evidence of serious long-term health consequences, including life-changing damage to young people's urinary systems and this cannot, must not continue. Government must move faster and provide the resources, education and enforcement needed to tackle this growing threat.

It will come as no surprise, that I made it clear that in my opinion, neighbourhood policing remains one of our strongest weapons against organised crime. Local officers, PCSOs and police staff know their communities and are often the first to identify emerging criminal activity. Most importantly, local people and communities that share intelligence and information allows the police to disrupt organised criminal networks before they become even more entrenched. That is why I told the Committee that any future reforms must protect neighbourhood policing and ensure local communities continue to have a direct voice in policing priorities.

The Committee explored the Government's plans for police reform and potential changes to policing structures. I warned MPs that serious and organised crime may operate regionally and nationally, but its effects are felt locally. My concern is that centralising decision-making and moving resources away from local communities’ risks weakening the very things that make policing effective: local knowledge, local relationships and local accountability. We cannot allow local communities to lose their voice in the pursuit of structural change.

Government must recommit to the National Drugs Strategy. Perhaps my clearest challenge to Government was this: commit fully to the national drugs strategy or replace it with something better - but do not allow momentum to drift. I raised concerns that national leadership on drugs policy has weakened over the past two years, with key structures that previously drove accountability and cross-government working no longer operating effectively. Tackling organised crime requires the Home Office, Department of Health, Ministry of Justice, local government, policing and education all pulling in the same direction.

Without that leadership, progress will stall.

Despite all the challenges, I was proud to showcase the work Dorset Police and our partners are carrying out every day. From tackling county lines to safeguarding vulnerable people and working through initiatives such as Operation Scorpion and Clear, Hold, Build, Dorset is demonstrating the value of partnership working and proactive policing. But we cannot fight this battle alone. My message to the Committee was clear and I ask all those who have an interest in this area of policing and indeed in this area of public health to join me and call on the Government to:

Recommit to the national drugs strategy and deliver it properly:

• Invest in prevention and education for young people.
• Act decisively on the growing threat posed by ketamine.
• Protect neighbourhood policing.
• Preserve local accountability in any future police reforms.
• Support stronger partnership working across policing, health, education, and local government.
• Ensure rural communities are not overlooked in the fight against organised crime.

Serious and organised crime is changing rapidly, and Government must be prepared to change with it.

I will continue to make Dorset's case in Westminster and push for the action, resources and support needed to keep our communities safe.

 

David Sidwick
Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset

 

Watch the Home Affairs Select Committee session: The impact of serious and organised crime on local neighbourhoods - Parliamentlive.tv - Home Affairs Committee