Drug dealing is a serious problem affecting many communities. One of the biggest barriers to dealing effectively with drug dealers is the use of intimidation by drug dealers to prevent people from reporting drug dealing.
Dial to Stop Drug Dealing is an initiative of the National Drugs Strategy Team to tackle drug dealing in local communities around Ireland. It provides a confidential and completely anonymous way for individuals to pass on information on drug dealing in their local community. When people are reporting drug dealing activity, they are never asked for their names or addresses, or any other information which might identify them. The information gathered is passed on directly to the Garda Síochána.
The initiative was rolled out in a number of local and regional drug task force areas in three phases.The taskforces involved in the campaign include:
If you have information on drug dealing activity in your community you can telephone a freephone number. You will get through to a trained operator who will ask you for your information and nothing more.
The calls are handled by staff that have been trained to deal with the sensitivities around the issue. You will not be asked for your name and your number will not be traced. No one will know that you have called.
Following a review of the initiative, for 2012 and onwards anyone wishing to pass on information on drug dealing should call the Crimestoppers freephone confidential number 1800 25 00 25.
The information gathered is passed on directly to the Garda National Drugs Unit (GNDU) which assesses its usefulness. The GNDU passes relevant information on to the Gardaí in the specified area for investigation. The Gardaí can use the information to build a case against a known drug dealer, to investigate new allegations of drug dealing activity in a community or to make an arrest.
You can find more information on the Dial to Stop Drug Dealing initiative on the www.dialtostop.ie website. Information on the Government’s strategy for dealing with the drug problem (pdf) is available here.
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