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Abstract
Many security‐related roles that were customarily the responsibility of governments and public police agencies have become commercialized, devolved, or otherwise dispersed. This phenomenon has been described as ‘multilateralization.’ The paper sets out to analyse the multilateralization of policing as it applies to strategies of supply reduction in the area of illicit synthetic drugs, focusing in particular upon amphetamine type substances. Supply reduction can constitute interventions not ordinarily thought of as drug law enforcement and entail a range of technologies underpinned by regulatory theory. Various strategies of engaging external institutions in furtherance of reducing the supply of illicit synthetic drugs are canvassed. The authors provide an analytical framework for understanding how illicit synthetic drugs can be governed through strategies of co‐production and the possible barriers and issues that need to be considered when attempting to engage the crime control capacities of external institutions.
Acknowledgements
Research for this paper was supported by funding from the Australian National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund (NDLERF project No. 168/02) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). The authors would like to thank NDLERF and the AFP for their generous financial support of this research. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors. We would also like to thank comments made by three anonymous referees.
Notes
[3] The terms amphetamine type substances (ATS) and illicit synthetic drugs refer to a wide spectrum of chemically synthesized drugs. However, for the basis of this paper the terms unless specified, refer collectively to amphetamine and methamphetamine (speed, crank, base, or yaba in South East Asia), crystal methamphetamine (crystallized methamphetamine hydrochloride known as crystal meth, ice, or shabu in Asia), and ecstasy (MDMA or 3‐4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine and other classes of phenethylamines such as MDEA or MDA). ATS can be swallowed, snorted, smoked, or injected depending on which form they take. While ATS are technically classified as psycho‐stimulants, ATS such as ecstasy do have hallucinogenic qualities and is often categorized as a hallucinogen. While chemically related to amphetamine, MDMA is not a derivative and is produced through a different chemical process (Australian Crime Commission, Citation2003).
[5] Key ‘factors of production’ refer to those factors within the supply chain of illicit drugs that can be most readily made scarce relative to others (Kleiman & Young, Citation1995). In the context of illicit synthetic drugs a key factor of production is the availability of precursor chemicals.
[6] There is also evidence that terrorist groups rely upon the trafficking of ATS to fund their activities (see Sanderson, Citation2004).
[7] The manufacture of ATS requires a range of precursors, reagents, and solvents. Precursors are chemicals which become incorporated in full or part into the final ATS product. Reagents are chemicals that facilitate a reaction, but do not become a part of the final product. A solvent is a liquid which dissolves another, usually a solid substance without any change in its own chemical composition. Like reagents, solvents do not form part of the final ATS (Dawson, Citation1994).
[8] There are a range of methods for producing ATS. They are referred to as the hypophosphorous acid method (pseudoephedrine based), red phosphorus method, Phenyl‐2‐Propanone method, and the Nazi method, which involves dissolved metal production (Australian Crime Commission, Citation2003; Steel, Citation2003). In the course of conversations with law enforcement officials in Australia, two of the authors came across a technique referred to as the ‘microwave’ method.
[9] Car ‘trunks’ in North American parlance.
[10] This can be both positive and negative. For example, large scale purchasing of chemicals that are diverted for illicit purposes (perhaps unbeknown to chemical manufacturers) can increase profit margins of industry. However, industry may be subject to theft resulting from diversion of precursor chemicals, which can also increase their insurance costs.
[11] The weight requirement is dependent on packaging type, see http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/chem_prog/mapa.htm
[12] For example, PDMPs in the US states of Nevada and Utah send physicians drug utilization letters containing patient information that signal potential diversion activity, including the number and types of drugs prescribed to a patient and the pharmacies that dispensed the drug (United States General Accounting Office, Citation2002).
[13] The term ‘place management’ has also been used to describe the ambit of activities that encompass such roles (Eck & Weisburd, Citation1995).
[14] Similar strategies exist in other Australian state police jurisdictions (see Cherney et al., Citation2005).
[15] In 2004 the Consumer Healthcare Products Association provided $1 million dollars in funding, assistance, and training to implement a uniform Meth Watch program based on the Kansas model across the USA (see http://www.chpa-info.org/Web/index.aspx).
[16] This entails the use of self‐regulation which overlaps with techniques discussed under the title of ‘delegation of deference to private interests’ discussed below.
[17] See http://www.asmi.com.au
[18] This can include the development of new entitlements or the use of pre‐existing ones to induce third parties to undertake some form of preventive action.
[19] This was due to misunderstandings about the ambit of civil nuisance abatement laws and a lack of communication between relevant authorities and participants over their use (see Castellano et al., Citation2003).
[20] While capable, industry may not be willing to regulate effectively and this is where other techniques described in this typology, like conscription or record keeping might become appropriate.
[21] For the PHARE website see http://www.psdproject.org/