The activities of authorised agencies such as police, customs, border services, and investigative bodies to enforce drug control laws and address criminal activities related to the production, trafficking, and distribution of illicit substances. These activities may include investigations, intelligence gathering, interdiction, and collaboration with national and international partners to disrupt organised crime networks. Law enforcement plays an important role in protecting public safety and maintaining the rule of law, and is most effective when coordinated with broader public health, prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts as part of a balanced and comprehensive response to substance use.
Law Enforcement
The Role of Faith Communities in Addressing Substance Use and Crime – Reading List (Part 2)
In this second reading list, we continue exploring the growing evidence on the role and contribution of faith communities and faith-based organisations in addressing substance use and crime, with a particular focus on treatment engagement...
The New Drug World: Strengthening Collaboration to Address Synthetic Drug Threats
This report examines how the rapid growth of synthetic drug markets is transforming the global drug landscape and challenging traditional approaches to drug control. Unlike plant-based drugs such as cocaine and heroin, synthetic drugs can...
Heroin Trafficking Along the Northern and Southern Routes: Emerging Trends and Strategic Implications
This paper examines how heroin trafficking routes from Afghanistan into Europe have evolved following the Taliban's return to power in 2021. It explores the changing dynamics of the northern and southern trafficking routes, highlighting how...
Association Between Religiosity and Spirituality and Cocaine Use: A Systematic Review
This systematic review examines the association between religiosity, spirituality, and cocaine use by analysing findings from 20 observational studies involving adults and adolescents. Most studies found that higher levels of religiosity...
Religion, Crime, and Criminal Justice
This chapter reviews the evidence on the relationship between religion, crime, and the criminal justice system. It highlights a growing body of research showing a consistent inverse association between religiosity and criminal behaviour...
Measuring gang membership in England and Wales: A latent class analysis with Eurogang survey questions
This study examines how gang membership is measured among young people using the Eurogang Network’s survey approach. Drawing on nationally representative data from England and Wales, the researchers used statistical analysis to identify...
Child Criminal Exploitation and the Interactional Emergence of Victim Status
This article draws on observations and interviews with youth justice practitioners and young people involved in county lines drug dealing to explore the processes by which young people are identified as victims of child criminal...
Protecting Youth from Mexican Drug Cartel Recruitment: The Prospects of Educational Interventions
This investigation considers the impact of Mexico’s War on Drugs since 2006 and the influence of widespread cartel networks on the youth population. As both victims and perpetrators of drug-related crime, the young individuals of Mexico are...
Recruitment of minors into organised crime
The recruitment of minors into serious and organised crime has increasingly become a tactic used by criminal networks to avoid detection, capture and prosecution. By using minors, the criminal networks increase the distance between the...
Addressing the recruitment of young people into criminal drugs networks
This report examines how and why young people are recruited into criminal drug networks across Europe. It highlights the range of factors that can increase vulnerability to recruitment, including social and economic disadvantage, peer...