From Helmand to the high street : a four - year study to systematically prioritise and map illicit drug markets in Lancashire

a widespread approach from which managers were able to ‘determine objective policing tactics in regard to enforcement targets, prevention activities and further intelligence gathering operations’ (Ratcliffe, 2008, p1). Unfortunately, as Hammersley (2008) points out, drug issues can be complex, as they exist within a multifaceted, multitiered global Introduction In 1993, the Audit Commission set out a simple premise in its report, Helping with Enquiries: Tackling crime effectively. It argued that in an environment of increasing demand, police agencies should target their resources at the areas and at the times they know that crimes are most likely to occur. Known as ‘intelligence-led policing’, this became Abstract For local law enforcement agencies, the subject of illicit drugs can appear all-pervasive. Any multifaceted problem situated in an intrusive media and political environment raises difficult challenges concerning the allocation of resources. This article explores the process behind Lancashire Constabulary’s decision to highlight Class A open drug markets as an operational priority, and looks at how a multi-agency intelligence process, based on geographic mapping methodology (GIS), was initiated to direct enforcement and preventative activity.