Glasgow News

[ionnsaigh]

Drug dealers given the push as GHA gets tough with peddling scum

May 21 2009 By Frank Hurley

DRUG DEALERS selling dope from their homes have been booted out of their houses in unprecedented numbers by Glasgow Housing Association (GHA).

A total of 13 dealers were evicted by court orders and another 10 bolted when they learned legal moves were being made to oust them from GHA properties this year.

The south side had the greatest number of offenders (40 per cent of the total) with 24 per cent in the north and the remainder in the east and west parts of the city.

GHA is making determined efforts to rid streets of the scourge of pushers.

Callers at all times of the day and night to "drug houses" are a danger to decent families, say tenants who complained to GHA.

GHA's Neighbour Relations Team (NRT) specialises in serious cases of anti-social behaviour. A specialist drugs officer was appointed to the team in January last year.

The drugs officer liaised with other agencies to maximise information handling, pursue cases and have offenders evicted.

This year's actions follow on from last year when 28 people were evicted compared to just 10 in 2007.

One case this year saw a tenant in the north of the city jailed for four years and when legal action began he terminated his tenancy.

Another tenant in the south side was convicted and jailed for 20 months. A decree of ejection was granted against him on April 28.

Jim Sneddon, executive director of Regeneration at GHA, said: "We will use whatever legal means necessary - including eviction - to ensure that our tenants can enjoy a quiet and peaceful life in their own homes."

Glasgow MSP Pauline McNeill said: "All credit to the GHA for taking such strong action against drug dealers and the misery they cause.

"This is a crucial part in the battle against drugs in our communities."

[tootsy]

thats a good start. then they should finish it off by disembowing the b******s and hanging their carcasses from lampposts as a warning to others

[ionnsaigh]

thats a good start. then they should finish it off by disembowing the b******s and hanging their carcasses from lampposts as a warning to others

I think I can safely say that this response - is both harsh and extreme. The cruel methods of the Taliban pale in comparison.

[ionnsaigh]

BBC NEWS
Father killed by 'sectarian mob'

The 49-year-old father-of-four who died during post-football match violence in Coleraine was "brutally beaten by a sectarian mob", the police have said.

Kevin Brendan McDaid was killed yards from his home in Somerset Drive in the Heights area after Rangers beat Celtic to the Scottish league title on Sunday.

A 46-year-old man was also assaulted in nearby Pates Lane. He is in a critical condition in hospital.

The police have increased their patrols after trouble in the town on Monday.

Detective Chief Inspector Frankie Taylor said their main line of inquiry was a "sectarian motive".

He said Mr McDaid was a youth worker who had tried to bring both sides of the community together, and was "well-known and well-liked".

He said the police had been in the area at the time of the attack, and had been aware of disturbances after the football matches.

The police are looking at the possibility that tensions had risen in the area after Irish tricolours had been put up on lampposts.

Inspector Taylor said the attack on the 46-year-old man, who is critically ill in hospital, was being treated as attempted murder.

"We may very well be looking at a second murder here," he said.

'Loyalist group'

The deputy first minister, Martin McGuinness, said a "sizeable group of loyalists" were responsible for the killing and the assault.

"They decided it was a good idea to attack a Catholic area," he said.

"I'm absolutely dismayed at this and I think at this very, very important time, it's important that people in the community identify those responsible and co-operate with the police to bring those murderers to justice."

The East Londonderry DUP MP, Gregory Campbell, also condemned the murder.

"There has to be total condemnation of this killing as we would do for all other killings, no matter when or where they occurred or who the victims were," he said.

"There ought to be the fullest possible co-operation between everyone in the area and the police in order to bring those responsible to justice."

SDLP assembly member John Dallat said he knew Mr McDaid's family well.

"This man was doing nothing more than going down to check on his sons and lost his life when this lynching mob from a different part of the town came along and rendered their form of justice.

"It's certainly lawlessness and it needs to addressed.

"The immediate emphasis should be on an inquiry.

"It must be thorough, it must be detailed, and we mustn't be discussing it years into the future," said Mr Dallat.

Ulster Unionist assembly member David McClarty said it was too early to say who was involved.

"We are in a situation here where we have to moderate our language and not go throwing blame where no proof has been given as to who was responsible for this incident.

"There is an element of sectarianism in the area but the vast majority of people in the Killowen/Heights area of Coleraine want to live in peace and harmony with their next door neighbours," he said.

Rangers beat Dundee United 3-0 on Sunday to take the Scottish championship from their Glasgow rivals Celtic.

A large part of the estate remains cordoned off, and forensic teams are at the scene.
Story from BBC NEWS:

[ionnsaigh]

Man arrested over weekend murder

A man has been arrested in connection with one of the three murders in the Strathclyde force area on Sunday.

The 22-year-old is expected to appear in court on Tuesday over the murder of Robert Currie, 20, who died after being found seriously injured in Dumbarton.

Police are also investigating the death of 22-year-old Kieran Crawford in the Germiston area of north east Glasgow.

A 17-year-old boy, who has not yet been named, was killed in the Castlemilk area of Glasgow early on Sunday.

The teenager received fatal wounds at a house in Drakemire Drive, just after 0300 BST.

Mr Currie, from Dumbarton, was taken to hospital following a disturbance in Auchenreoch Avenue in the town, at about 1455 BST.

In the Germiston incident, the 22-year-old man suffered serious injuries in a disturbance involving about 15 people in Forge Street, at about 1715 BST.

He was pronounced dead on arrival at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.

A 28-year-old man was also injured and taken to Glasgow Royal Infirmary for treatment. His condition was described as serious but stable.

Det Supt Michael Orr told BBC Scotland that having three murders in the space of 24 hours was "absolutely tragic".

He said: "We have three incident rooms running from three offices in the force and a high number of officers engaged in the investigations."

Officers said there was no indication the violence had been linked to Sunday's SPL deciders involving Celtic and Rangers.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/s ... 066691.stm

Published: 2009/05/25 13:54:20 GMT

© BBC MMIX

[ionnsaigh]

I had the misfortune of having to visit a close in the Maryhill area of Glasgow - Two days before a man had died in a house fire. The guys name was Mick - he was in his fifties. People had tied Celtic tops to the railings outside, which included a Rangers top and scarf. ( Not sure if I really approve of this type of thing - although one things for sure it's becoming more popular ).
The houses are mostly open air veranda type maisonettes - with closes at either end - each close has about Twelve families - Three to a landing , this particular close has been badly damaged by smoke - everything is completely covered in black greasy soot. Weans are up and down the close all the time ( they live there ) The close lighting is not working - The man's belonging have been lying in the street for several days now - some furniture, TV, his clothes, and what looks like a new mountain bike.
This part of the large street - it consists of hundreds of houses could fairly be described as slum dwellings - and housing the poorest of the poor - in terms of housing. The mans belongings haven't been touched - however I feel that the landlord GHA have acted in a disgraceful manner - with absolutely no dignity shown to the dead mans family friends and neighbours.
The people up that close should have been rehoused immediately - until the place was made habitable - however GHA ( remembering the ones you talk about clearing up our streets of drug dealers ) Don't appear to think that it is necessary.

[tootsy]

must agree the makeshift shrines are not my cup of tea either, often sited at road junctions retricting view while their very presence means it is dangerous enough already. it would seem that gha have not covered themselves in glory with their treatment of micks possessions, family and neighbours. evicting the drug dealers on the other hand they should be applauded for. these people are vermin... end of.

[ionnsaigh]

Of course dealers are a problem to their immediate neighbours - after all who would want drug addicts up and down the close at all hours of the day and night. I don't know the dynamics involved - other than that the addicts outnumber the dealers. The addicts suffer not only from the addiction - they have the added weight of cost and criminality - combined with the stigma and prevailing appalling attitude of the general public. There is a huge market for drugs - the threat from a housing association will do little in the way of addressing cause. You have a large body of people addicted to a costly drug - so much so that crimes committed in order to maintain the addiction are great - and at greater cost to society as a whole.
The decriminalisation of these drugs - would wipe out the dealers overnight - under state control this problem would disappear - with the stroke of a pen. When a social problem is driven underground - by the law of the land it becomes uncontrollable - and like flies round shit the gangsters move in.
I advocate free drugs in a controlled medical environment - this would be in essence a ( person friendly ) reduction programme. The current free market conditions - give rise to a whole new army of people who will become addicted, if the present situation should be allowed to continue - and thrive underground - then we will achieve nothing in wiping out this scourge on society. It's about time our government and politicians - had the moral fibre to change the law and save our children of the future.

[hugh]

I advocate free drugs in a controlled medical environment - this would be in essence a ( person friendly ) reduction programme.

Ionns.

A little more detail? How the hell would that work? Is this the real life or is this just fantasy?
When you say "at the stroke of a pen", is that another way of saying "with a wave of a magic wand." Look, honestly, I don't mean this to sound like p-taking 'cos I know you mean well, which is more than even some professional politicians do, but you really do sometimes come across as thinking complex social issues have simplistic abracadabra solutions.
And please don't ask me for my solution, because I don't have one. My answer to most of society's problems is not to contribute to them. You say you want a revolution, well you know, we all wanna see the plan.

Catch a pint with you sometime and watch out for the big bad 3rd sector.

Citizen Smith.
Tooting.

[ionnsaigh]

Citizen Smith,

If you make these substances legal - then you immediately remove the street price and dealers - who would want to buy a bottle of watered down contaminated beer - when you can go round the corner and get the real uncontaminated thing free of charge?
Human nature dictates what direction the alcoholic would take. The bottom would fall out of the street drugs market overnight. In terms of public health - the spread of virus through shared needles would be eliminated. Drug related crimes account for a large percentage of crime figures. They also produce gangsters who appear to thrive in this murky world.
If you remove the conditions that give rise to a thing - then that thing dies - or at least that is my understanding.

If you positively control the present conditions - that increase exposure and vulnerability of potential addicts - then the number of potential addicts will drop. Then again this is the way I see it - I being the ordinary man in the street.
It appears to me a cycle of aspects - between supply and demand - the proposal would regulate supply and reduce demand.
A concerted pincer type - two strand approach - would prove more effective than current uncoordinated strategies.

Christ man - I don't know the answer to any of these problems - however one thing is for sure the governments drugs policy is inadequate - and has failed miserably to control the situation. Perhaps it is time for a revolution - at least in the way politicians think.

Citizen Mick.

[hugh]

Yeah....but. Where do the people who give away free drugs get these free drugs from? Do they rely on the goodwill of the international drug market? Will Columbia and Afghanistan go along with the plan? Do the people who get these free drugs have to be already addicts? If they are then there would still be the same problems. If they aren't then the curious, the impressionable and the just plain stupid would be getting a one way ticket to zombiedom.
Still it would be good for the tourist trade. Much better than bodies hanging from lampposts. Oh, and I totally agree with your last paragraph. I'm just saying it's a lot easier said than done.

[Govangirl]

Ionns, I have always been against the legalisation of drugs but I'm slowly changing and your argument is a very potent one. It's true that It isn't drugs but rather drug laws that have made drug dealing so profitable. I guess it is lucrative only because it is illegal. There are so many people that advocate giving up the war on drugs simply because we cannot win but I imagine that we will never win as long as we continue to let drugs dictate the means we use to oppose them. So I agree with you - and I would never have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would have - that the only way to do that is to ruin the world market price of drugs by legalising them. When drug prices plummet, drug profits will collapse, and with them, the entire drug empire.

And yes Hugh, I KNOW that sounds over-simplistic

[ionnsaigh]

Run Down canal areas in Glasgow are to be renovated as low carbon communities of the future.

The regeneration of communities along the city's historic canal corridor took a major step forward when the Scottish Government announced last week the projects would go ahead.

The aim is to transform the area around Maryhill Locks and Speirs Locks in the north of the city.

The Speirs Locks Masterplan covers a 14-hectare site north of Glasgow's city centre adjacent to the Glasgow branch of the Forth and Clyde Canal.

This was developed following a 10month consultation with more than 300 people including residents, school children and local business people.

The proposals provide a framework to allow the area to develop as a successful community over the next 15 years.
Speirs Locks

Vacant sites alongside the canal will be developed for commerce.

The aim is also to build a cultural and creative hub around existing uses such as Scottish Opera.

Speaking on behalf of the Glasgow Canal Regeneration Partnership, city councillor George Ryan, said: "This is very good news for not only the communities around Speirs Locks and Maryhill Locks, but the whole city.

"As the development of the canal con-tinuesthis will bring real benefits in housing, business, leisure and tourism.

"The regeneration projects along the canal are beginning to transform the areas around them."

Both projects are part of the Glasgow Canal Regeneration Partnership's (GCRP) 20-year vision to revitalise 1000 acres of the Glasgow branch of the Forth and Clyde Canal.

[hugh]

Right. A couple a' questions here.

" Low carbon communities of the future." What are they when they're at home then?

"A ten month consultation with 300 people..". That works out at less than one consultation ( as in "here, mate fill in this form", probably) a day. I could have done that quicker during my teabreaks, if they'd only asked. How much public money did they award themselves for that? You're the reporter Ionns., you should be asking these questions.

And lastly, but not leastly...."20 Year vision."? Hmm..."Masterplan."?! Hmmmm...today Speir's Lock, tomorrow who knows where?

[Bobbie En Tejas]

Re giving away drugs to addicts:

Perhaps while you are giving away drugs to young otherwise healthy people who have chosen for the most part the lifestyles they live, you can also talk the governments into giving away free, effective (and sometimes very expensive) medication to people who have to take medicine every day just to stay alive, or at least feel like well enough to want to keep living and get healthy again.

I think there are probably a lot of health problems there and here in people who have tried to live by the rules, have tried to be productive contributors to society, have not caused any trouble, have not tried to hurt anyone, and who have not used their problems as an excuse to steal, maim and rip off society.

Maybe help them get off drugs, help them with goals or education, job placement, but a lifetime of free drugs isn't a good answer to me.