Community Solutions to Open Air Drug Markets

Illegal drug use and distribution have long-standing effects on the communities the illegal markets are located in. In these drug markets, drug sales commonly occur at a public space or a predesignated location. An area where these drug sale meetups are common is known as an open-air drug market. Open air drug markets can cause serious problems for the community, including overdose deaths and sickness, harm to families, loss of economic prosperity, and more (US Department of Justice, 2010). In conjunction with law enforcement efforts, the community can take steps towards reducing the presence of open-air drug markets in their communities. Emphasizing community-based approaches can empower affected communities, while avoiding mass incarceration and solving the problem of open-air drug markets. 

Grassroots and peer-based recovery services can effectively reduce the role of open-air drug markets through recovery services. In a systematic review of “peer-delivered” substance use recovery services, Bassuk (2016) found there are beneficial effects of peer-involvement in substance use treatment. Another related approach to ending open-air drug markets is harm reduction measures. Harm reduction is the practice of reducing but not eliminating the consequences of health behaviors. Its benefits have been felt recently with methadone treatments. Commonly accepted best practices include: needle and syringe exchange, targeted therapy and counseling, injection supervision, among other support services (Tran & Luong, 2022). The sustainability and cost effectiveness of this style of solution makes it more viable (Tran & Luong, 2022). While harm reduction measures may be promising, they cannot address all drug dependency since methadone-like medications do not exist for all drugs (Tran & Luong, 2022). Also, most harm reduction measures are reactive instead of proactive when dealing with drug use and sale (Tran & Luong, 2022). 

Stable housing, health insurance, and employment are all linked to higher success in community treatment solutions (Damian et al., 2017; Freudenburg et al., 2005). In a study of formerly incarcerated people, Freudenburg et al. (2005) identified predictors of positive outcomes such as using less drugs and not being involved in drug sales. Employment was related to less drug usage, fewer sales among men, and less heavy drug use among women (Freudenburg et al., 2005). Health insurance predicted lower rearrest rates in men and reduced risk of drug sales in women (Freudenburg et al., 2005). This suggests that providing employment opportunities and health insurance for formerly incarcerated individuals may aid in reducing drug-related crime. Additionally, in a study of grassroots recovery programs, they found that stable housing was a key predictor of program success (Damian et al., 2017). This finding was echoed in Chen (2020), where the author found an inverse relationship between higher regional educational level and drug sales in China (Chen, 2020). Meeting at-risk populations’ basic needs through community support may be an important strategy in ending drug market sales.  

  Another strategy to reduce the role of open-air drug markets is known as the Pulling Levers Approach. In this approach, adapted from previous problem-oriented policing research, law enforcement first identifies a target group of offenders (Corsaro, 2013; Braga et al., 2001). Next, law enforcement directly instructs the target group of offenders to stop the illegal conduct, or else they will be met with punishment as a deterrent measure (Corsaro, 2013). Lastly, the target group is offered “social services and community resources” in order to assist them in leaving a criminal lifestyle (Corsaro, 2013). Essentially, it is a three-pronged intervention in which non-violent dealers at open-air markets are brought in and have their charges suspended if they stop dealing entirely. Then, they are offered social services which they may need and are requested to stop by community elders/spiritual leaders, loved ones, and formerly incarcerated people. This method was first used for gun-violence in Boston but was later adapted to drug sales by the High Point Police Department in North Carolina (Hipple et al., 2011; Braga et al., 2001). These steps, when properly implemented, have led to overwhelming successes, such as a 55.5% reduction in “drug and narcotic offenses” in East Nashville, Tennessee (Corsaro & McGarrell, 2009). The National Network for Safe Communities detailed the process of implementing this approach in a guide, meaning it can be straightforwardly replicated by other agencies (Community Oriented Policing Services, 2015). 

Risk Terrain Modeling (RTM) can be used to identify areas at risk for different types of crime including crime associated with open-air drug markets. RTM is a way of identifying spatial risk areas for crime based on past data (Caplan, 2015). For example, in Newark, it could be used to identify areas at risk for drug-related crime. From there, outreach and resources can be placed in these areas which could disrupt open-air drug markets. RTM analyses can also be used to identify places that attract this type of behavior. For example, an RTM analysis was used to examine what physical environmental features coincide with drug arrests in Durham, Ontario (Onat et al., 2018). They found that places with high rates of robberies and prostitution, as well as bus stops were most likely to have open-air drug markets (Onat et al., 2018). This is particularly important because it demonstrates the link between violent crime and open-air drug markets; another reason open-air drug markets remediation should be prioritized. In Chicago, Barnum et al. (2017) found that neighborhood decay, like broken streetlights, co-located with open-air drug markets. Additionally, areas that attract large numbers of potential buyers (i.e., grocery stores, bus stops, etc.) saw more open-air drug markets (Barnum et al., 2017). These analyses are highly actionable because they enable outreach responses to disrupt predictors of open-air drug markets. Put differently, community members can change the features that are attracting crime to these areas.

Understanding how people interact with the environment is key in developing narratives and solutions to disrupt them. For example, by utilizing Risk Terrain Modeling, the NPSC identified an array of environmental features (i.e., take-out restaurants, pharmacies, retail stores, gas stations, and convenience stores) that worked as crime generators/generators for auto theft in the city of Newark. When presenting this finding at a stakeholder meeting, a narrative was developed suggesting the increased risk of auto theft victimization to be associated with car idling. As a result, the NPSC along with several community partners developed an auto theft crime reduction strategy consisting of community-led visits to identified risky places to disseminate flyers. This is one example of how data-informed community engagement (DICE) efforts can help disrupt narratives and create actionable change. Thus, understanding the environmental conditions that influence open-air drug markets to emerge and persist over time can be the first step in remediating the problem. 

Central to solving open-air drug markets is that what has worked elsewhere may not work in Newark (CDC, 2022). For example, in an analysis of open-air drug markets in Bogota, Colombia, culture-specific predictors of crime, such as motorcycle theft, were identified, meaning that cultural understanding is key to solving open-air drug markets (Escudero & Ramirez, 2018). In addition, input and buy in from the community and affected individuals are extremely important to an effective solution (CDC, 2022). As an example, the NPSC has recently partnered with the Newark Opportunity Youth Network to engage juveniles in public safety conversations. When discussing effective strategies to increase awareness surrounding the issue of car idling, juveniles suggested that 1) digital campaigns are more effective in creating awareness, and 2) receiving information from community members may be more effective than receiving information from law enforcement. Thus, input from the community is imperative for successful outcomes. Moreover, accessibility of services is a large factor in reducing drug use and open-air drug markets (CDC, 2022). As an example, the NPSC is using data and analytics to identify areas most affected by domestic violence in the City of Newark with the goal of assisting service providers to increase service accessibility in those areas. Thus, using data to identify open-air drug markets and increase service accessibility in those areas is an effective way to make informed resource allocation decisions. Lastly, placing an emphasis on education and rehabilitation and not retribution and punishment is crucial to remediating open-air drug markets. 

References

Barnum, J. D., Campbell, W. L., Trocchio, S., Caplan, J. M., & Kennedy, L. W. (2016). Examining the Environmental Characteristics of Drug Dealing Locations. Crime & Delinquency, 63(13), 1731–1756. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128716649735

Bassuk, E. L., Hanson, J., Greene, R. N., Richard, M., & Laudet, A. (2016). Peer-Delivered Recovery Support Services for Addictions in the United States: A Systematic Review. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 63, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2016.01.003

Braga, A., Kennedy, D., Waring, E., & Piehl, A. (2001). Problem-Oriented Policing, Deterrence, and Youth Violence: An Evaluation of Boston’s Operation Ceasefire. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 38(3), 195–225. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427801038003001

Caplan, J., Kennedy, L., Barnum, J., & Piza, E. (2015). Risk Terrain Modeling for Spatial Risk Assessment. Cityscape: A Journal of Policy Development and Research, 17.

CDC. (2022, June 9). Evidence-Based Strategies for Preventing Opioid Overdose: What’s Working in the United States | Drug Overdose | CDC Injury Center. Www.cdc.gov. https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/featured-topics/evidence-based-strategies.html?msclkid=59900636b43011ec87bcf23b69176245

Chen, J., Liu, L., Liu, H., Long, D., Xu, C., & Zhou, H. (2020). The Spatial Heterogeneity of Factors of Drug Dealing: A Case Study from ZG, China. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 9(4), 205. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040205

Community Oriented Policing Services. (2015). Drug Market Intervention: An Implementation Guide. National Network for Safe Communities (NNSC). https://nnscommunities.org/guides/drug-market-intervention-an-implementation-guide/

Corsaro, N. (2013). The High Point Drug Market Intervention: Examining Impact across Target Areas and Offense Types. Victims & Offenders, 8(4), 416–445. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2013.814613

Corsaro, N., & Mcgarrell, E. (2009). An Evaluation of the Nashville Drug Market Initiative (DMI) Pulling Levers Strategy*.

Damian, A. J., Mendelson, T., & Agus, D. (2017). Predictors of buprenorphine treatment success of opioid dependence in two Baltimore City grassroots recovery programs. Addictive Behaviors, 73, 129–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.05.010

Freudenberg, N., Daniels, J., Crum, M., Perkins, T., & Richie, B. E. (2005). Coming Home From Jail: The Social and Health Consequences of Community Reentry for Women, Male Adolescents, and Their Families and Communities. American Journal of Public Health, 95(10), 1725–1736. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2004.056325

Hipple, N., Corsaro, N., & Mcgarrell, E. (2011). The High Point Drug Market Initiative: A Process and Impact Assessment of the West End Initiative †* Project Safe Neighborhoods Case Study #12.

Onat, I., Akca, D., & Bastug, M. F. (2018). Risk Terrains of Illicit Drug Activities in Durham Region, Ontario. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 60(4), 537–565. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjccj.2018-0006.r1

Tran, M. T. N., & Luong, Q. H. (2022). Community harm reduction initiatives: Essential investments for illicit drug prevention and control in the future. The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific, 18, 100373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanwpc.2021.100373

US Department of Justice. (2010). Impact of drugs on society - national drug threat assessment. Justice.Gov. https://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs38/38661/drugImpact.htm