‘Dial to Stop Drug Dealing’ confidential phone line aims to tackle drug pushers

A COMMUNITY devastated by drugs is fighting back by setting up its own phone line to combat drug pushing.

Dial to Stop Drug Dealing is the first confidential crime-busting phone line which is not run or part-run by the gardaí.

The organisers believe the freephone line, which is being launched today, could be rolled out on a nationwide basis if the pilot proves successful. The phone line will collect information — through a call centre in England — on drug-dealing in Blanchardstown in west Dublin and pass the information onto local gardaí.

Despite fears that senior garda management had instructed local gardaí not to support the phone line, a Garda Press Office spokesman said yesterday that garda management were supporting the Blanchardstown Local Drugs Task Force (LDTF) initiative.

The spokesman also said the local superintendent would attend the launch today and that local gardaí would accept the information collected by the phone line.

Joe Doyle, coordinator of the Blanchardstown LDTF, welcomed the endorsement.

“That’s good news. All along, the local gardaí have been very supportive. It had come to our attention that there were issues in Garda headquarters, but obviously they have backtracked.”

He said the Blanchardstown LDTF set up a non-Garda phone line after examining a similar phone line in neighbouring Finglas and Cabra.

“The phone line used the local police station number and in the evaluation, one of the main barriers was that it was a garda number,” said Mr Doyle.

“Some people are unwilling or unable to phone the gardaí and we are guaranteeing them anonymity in this freephone,” he said, adding that the information will be sent directly to local gardaí.

“It’s basically intelligence gathering and we’re hoping guards at the end of the campaign will tell us what the quality of the information is like.”

He said local garda information showed that supply offences increased by 36%, from 61 to 83 offences, between 2004 and 2005 in the area, while possession offences jumped by 182%, from 57 to 161 offences.

LDTF chairman Philip Keegan said: “This is about getting to the big dealers up the line, the people who supply dangerous drugs.

“It’s not about targeting vulnerable young people.”

The pilot runs from May 3 until June 13, after which it will be evaluated.

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