Cover; Taking Care of Business; Copyright; Table of Contents; 1. The Drug Detectives; The Origins of the Police Detective; Detective Work and Culture; Drug Squads; Conclusion; 2. Policing the 'Drug Problem'; Theorizing the Policing of Drugs; The War on Drugs; The Post-War Era; Conclusion; 3. The Illegal Drug Business; Illegal Drugs and the Informal Economy; The High Life; The High Price; The Drug Distribution Web; Conclusion; 4. Investigating the Investigators: Research Methodology; An Ethnographic Approach; The Field; Research Methods; Negotiating Access; 5. The Police on Drugs; Drugs
Drug UseDrug Dealers; Drug Detective Work; Conclusion; 6. Intelligence-Led Investigation; The Rise of Intelligence-Led Policing; What is 'Proactive Policing'?; The 'NIM-Lite Approach'; Organizational Priorities; Intelligence Work; Operational Targets; Conclusion; 7. Licensing Criminals; The Police Informer System; The Role of Informers in Drug Investigations; 'Licensing Criminals'; The Everyday Regulation of Informers and Some Unintended Consequences; Conclusion; 8. Making Cases; Drug Warrants; Covert Operations; The Case for the Prosecution; Conclusion
9. Detecting Change and the Future of Drug Law EnforcementDetecting Change; Regulating the Drug Trade; References; Index
Summary
This study provides an insightful study of specialist detective units assigned to investigating drug offences, based on extensive fieldwork undertaken in two English police service areas, with in-depth analysis of the everyday realities of the 'war on drugs' and the underlying assumptions that operate beneath the presentational canopy of police organisations
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 261-284) and index