A state wide campaign aimed at mobilising members of the public in the fight against the drug ice is coming to Campbelltown today.
In less than half an hour Superintendent Wayne Benson, Commander, Campbelltown Local Area Command, will join Federal Member for Macarthur Russell Matheson and Mayor Paul Hawker to launch the local Dob in a Dealer drive.
The official launch at noon will be held in the Lithgow Street Mall, near the entrance to the old RSL club.
The campaign has been initiated and funded by the Commonwealth Government, and is currently taking place in states and territories across Australia.
In NSW, the campaign is being held in 21 Local Area [police] Commands (LAC) across the state over a six-month period between March and September 2016.
It will run in each LAC for two weeks, during which police and Crime Stoppers will conduct intensive community-engagement activities.
These will highlight the important role members of the public have to play in helping police to shut down drug-manufacturing syndicates and arrest drug suppliers.
During the campaign, Campbelltown LAC residents will be urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via the online portal, where they can report drug-dealing activities anonymously.
While members of the public are encouraged to report any prohibited-drug activity via Crime Stoppers, the focus of the Dob in a Dealer campaign is ice, also known as crystal methylamphetamine.
Data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research illustrate the burgeoning ice problem.
In the 36 months to September 2015, arrests for amphetamine possession soared by 75.3 per cent across NSW (up from 5063 in 2013 to 8876 in 2015).
Over the same time period, arrests for dealing/trafficking amphetamines in NSW increased 34 per cent (from 1567 in 2013 to 2099 in 2015).
There has also been a steady increase in the number of clandestine drug laboratories detected by police in NSW. In 2008 there were 55; by last year this had jumped to 106.
