An exploratory study of police practices, priorities, and goals in addressing drug-related challenges.

Purpose

The project examines how the police handle drug-related challenges across various contexts – including nightlife, disadvantaged residential areas, and organised crime. The goal is to generate new knowledge about the priorities, operational practices, and strategic considerations that shape police work in this area, and to identify opportunities for development and knowledge-based practice.

Background

Drugs play a central role in the daily work of the police across many areas of intervention. At the same time, there is a need for more knowledge about how drug law enforcement is carried out, what logics and priorities underpin it, and how it affects policing in practice. In addition to law enforcement, the project also covers the role of the police in mitigating the negative consequences of drug use and drug markets, supporting access to treatment, and cooperating with other actors. The project thus sheds light on police approaches to drug issues in a broad sense and explores the potential for a more knowledge-based, coordinated, and coherent response across domains.

The study

The project combines several methodological approaches to address both strategic and operational perspectives:

• Document analysis of strategies, guidelines, and legislation.
• Review of approximately 100 cases from POLSAS concerning violations of the drug legislation, to explore how these cases arise, in what situations, and what patterns emerge.
• Approximately 40 interviews, including interviews with senior-level officers to understand strategic choices and focus groups with frontline officers to capture operational experiences.

The project aims, in close collaboration with the police, to begin building a shared knowledge base to support the continued development of drug-related policing efforts. As an exploratory study, it lays the groundwork for mapping existing practices, identifying knowledge gaps, and pointing toward new directions for future, more targeted research and development initiatives.

The project will also contribute new empirical insights to academic research on drugs policing. The findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals within criminology and policing research, where they can inform international debates on police practices, strategies, and enforcement in relation to illicit drugs.

The project runs from May 2025 to April 2026.

Funding

The project has received funding from the Nordic Research Council for Criminology (NSfK).