It’s a Matter of Priority – week of action re-focuses on drugs harm

Today (Monday, January 9) marks the start of Northamptonshire Police’s 2023 three-month campaign of intensive activity targeting the Force’s Matters of Priority.

Twelve weeks of “surge activity” will see another sustained focus on the Force’s priority crime areas – drug harm, serious violence, serious & organised crime and violence against women and girls.

The New Year push follows on from a hugely successful campaign last summer and will again see the Force working with partners across the county with communities seeing heightened law enforcement, increased visibility and the execution of operational warrants targeting known offenders

Led by Chief Inspector James Willis, the first week of the campaign will focus on drug harm and the crimes linked to those who supply or use illicit substances, what happens to the drugs the Force confiscates and engagement events.

Chief Inspector Willis said: “Today is day one of our new 12-week round of surge activity. Over the next three months we will be raising the profile of our four matters of priority, drug harm, violence against women and girls, serious violence, and serious & organised crime.

“For week one I am focussing the full blue fury of Northamptonshire Police on the reduction of drug harm, in full alignment with the National Drug Strategy. This will see a targeted blend of enforcement, diversion, prevention, and education across both the police service and a range of partner organisations.

“The illegal drug trade is a key driver of all sorts of crime. While we work ceaselessly to reduce drug harm all year round, this week is designed to highlight and intensify our efforts. Some of the activity will be highly visible, whereas other endeavours will naturally need to be more low-key.

“However, we cannot tackle this issue alone, we need members of the public who have information relating to drug dealing, drug driving, or drug related criminality to contact us. We will act on all information provided, where able to do so.”

As with all our work, officers are reliant on the public reporting any concerns they have to us. If you have concerns about drug dealing, or someone becoming drawn into gang culture, please call us on 101, or use our online form.

You can also pass any concerns on to Crimestoppers anonymously via 0800 555 111 or online at Crimestoppers-uk.org