Police have disrupted two county lines drugs rings in Brighton and Hove over the past few weeks, a senior officer said yesterday (Thursday 7 May).
Two people from London have been charged with dealing – and eight people were arrested when officers swooped on the old William Hill bookmakers in St James’s Street, Brighton, a week ago (Friday 1 May).
Dealing had become more visible, with fewer people on the streets because of the coronavirus lockdown, Chief Superintendent Nick May told councillors and community leaders.
Chief Superintendent May, Sussex Police’s divisional commander for Brighton and Hove, said that officers were aiming as high up the chain as possible to end the blight of drugs in the area.
He heard from three councillors who represent Queen’s Park ward on Brighton and Hove City Council at a “virtual” meeting yesterday.
They said that St James’s Street was a hotbed of problems during a debate about crime and community safety at the meeting of the council’s Tourism, Equalities, Communities and Culture Committee.
Labour councillor Amanda Evans said that she and her fellow Queen’s Park councillors received an overwhelming number of emails complaining about open drug use and dealing.
She said that people were begging for drugs money outside Morrisons supermarket and added: “We get a lot of emails saying that the police don’t seem to have much of a presence there. They’re patrolling the beach instead.
“The drug dealing is going on everywhere – outside people’s windows.”
Fellow Labour councillor Nick Childs said that he had organised a meeting with the area’s crime prevention officer along with Councillor Evans and Green councillor Clare Rainey.
Councillor Childs said: “There is drug-related crime and aggressive begging in St James’s Street and around Ardingly Court.
“Also drug dealing within Queen’s Park itself is endemic. It’s an ongoing problem. What puzzles some residents is there’s hardly anyone about.
“The only people who are about are into some kind of mischief. It would seem to be they stick out more and might be easier to apprehend but I’m not a police officer so it may be more difficult than that.”
Green councillor Steph Powell, who represents Hanover and Elm Grove and previously respresented Queen’s Park, also said there were problems with drugs in open spaces.
Chief Superintendent May said: “There is an element of it being more obvious because there are fewer people on the streets.
“We have made arrests and try to go higher up the chain. In the last two weeks we have disrupted two significant county lines operations.
“That is where we want to be doing our work – stopping the drugs coming into the city in the first place.”
Chief Superintendent May also said that officers were encouraged to go down St James’s Street when they were heading out to patrol the seafront.
