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Making it Big? – The personal stories of those involved in the UK drugs trade
Laura Wilson, Managing Consultant, Matrix Knowledge Group, London
Abstract
Few individuals inspire as much curiosity and vilification as high level drug dealers, but, very little is known about their lives. This presentation will draw on pioneering research published last year (The illicit drug trade in the UK [Matrix Knowledge Group]) in which 222 interviews with convicted high level drug dealers and traffickers were undertaken in 22 English prisons. It will explore themes such as how individuals got involved in the trade, how they grew their operations, the roles they undertook, how they interacted with each other, and their approaches to risk and law enforcement. The presentation will also explore why such research is valuable to those involved in drug policy and practice.
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Biography
Laura is a managing consultant at Matrix and leads the social inclusion team. Her research experience includes managing a large research project for the Home Office aiming to describe the illegal drugs market in terms of business, economic and networking dynamics through a large scale programme of interviews with convicted drug traffickers. She is currently managing a review of the young people's drug fund in the Republic of Ireland and has recently completed an evaluation of all the locally funded community drug misuse projects in Ireland. She is also providing expert input for the evaluation of the Adults facing Chronic Exclusion pilot programme for the Cabinet Office and supported the Home Office in determining options for the future allocation of Drug Intervention Programme funding. Prior to working at Matrix, Laura worked as a consultant at DrugScope.
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