Anti-Drugs Community Action

Sir, - I read with interest the report by your Drugs and Crime Correspondent, Catherine Cleary, on the decrease in crime rates…

Sir, - I read with interest the report by your Drugs and Crime Correspondent, Catherine Cleary, on the decrease in crime rates (The Irish Times, July 23rd). Numerous reasons are given for this drop in the level of crime: better treatment facilities, the work of the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB), the work of the Garda National Drugs Unit (GNDU), increased co-operation between the State agencies and even the famous Operation Dochas.

Every explanation given for the drop in crime neglects to mention the impact on the crime rates of the fight against drugs by the affected communities. There seems to be a concerted attempt to play down the effectiveness of the fight against drugs and the drug pushers by community based anti-drugs organisations such as the Coalition of Communities Against Drugs (COCAD). While communities with a serious drug problem welcome the work of the CAB and GNDU, most community activists view Operation Dochas as little more than a public relations exercise for the Garda.

Commonsense alone should recognise that communities patrolling their own areas against drugs would have a major impact on the level of crime in those areas. Added to this is the effort anti-drug activists have put into providing resources for the treatment of addicts and putting pressure on the State agencies to co-ordinate their approach to the city-wide drug problem. Few could argue that the huge support for the anti-drugs movement at the start of this campaign forced the Government into the formation of the task forces and any benefits that has accrued from these are due to the work of the community anti-drugs groups. Yet, we are still awaiting an acknowledgment from the relevant authorities of the valuable work done by the voluntary community groups in the drug infested areas. - Yours, etc., Cieran Perry,

Coalition of Communities Against Drugs, Unit 8, Cork Street Business Centre, 107 Cork Street, Dublin 8.