Examination of Witnesses (Questions 376
- 379)
TUESDAY 1 DECEMBER 2009
ASSISTANT CHIEF
CONSTABLE MICK
MATTHEWS AND
MR CHRIS
PEARSON
Q376 Chairman: May I refer everyone
present to the Register of Members' Interests where the interests
of Members are registered. We welcome Mr Pearson and Assistant
Chief Constable Matthews to this session of the Committee's inquiry
into the cocaine trade. If I may start with you, Mr Pearson, what
is the profile of the typical cocaine user?
Mr Pearson: There are two types
of cocaine user very prominent in the UK at the moment. There
is the cocaine powder user who will typically be between the ages
of 20 and 30, more likely to be male and his recreational pursuits
will revolve around the nightclub scene, all-night drinking and
a sort of recreational image. There are also the crack cocaine
users, who are less prominent. It is more difficult to gauge them
and to produce a profile, but they would be more typically people
who perhaps use heroin as well, spend a lot of money on their
habit, maybe committing a lot of acquisitive crime in order to
fund their habit as well.
Q377 Chairman: The term "celebrity
cocaine user" is used quite a lot in the media. How much
of police resources is directed towards them? Do you think there
is a distortion in the eyes of the public about the very few who
are very famous who perhaps use cocaine?
Mr Pearson: I would not say that
I have witnessed the police target celebrities and famous people
as such. The police will often target a nightclub or a particular
venue where they are acting on intelligence where it is known
to be distributing cocaine or to have cocaine sold within its
premises. That is really when they become a target of law enforcement,
as it were.
Q378 Bob Russell: Mr Pearson, I do
not want you to think I am an authority on this subject. How typical
is polydrug use, which I am advised is a combination of alcohol
and cocaine powder and crack and heroin, and what problems does
that cause for policing?
Mr Pearson: I would say that it
is very common, particularly cocaine and alcohol. The most common
reason young people take cocaine is for the user to buzz longer,
to stay awake longer, in order to compensate for the depressive
elements of alcohol. So they will often use a lot of cocaine alongside
alcohol consumption. Yes, they will also turn to other stimulants,
such as amphetamines and ecstasy and ketamine and drugs like that.
I would say it is very common. Also, with the more problematic
market, people are taking crack cocaine with heroin and that is
called speedballing.
Q379 Bob Russell: As I understand
the term polydrug use, what specific problems does that cause
for policing over and above other issues of illegal drug substances?
Mr Pearson: Powder cocaine gives
young people the ability to stay awake longer and to drink longer
and, therefore, commit more alcohol-related crime.
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