Evening press leader

Some will welcome it as a useful weapon in the war against drugs. Others will consider it an unacceptable breach of basic civil liberties. York police's new initiative is as radical as it is controversial.

Detectives have been given the keys to certain rented homes in York. They can enter and search the communal areas of these properties at will and without a warrant.

There are those who will regard this development as a shocking invasion of privacy. They will argue that it breaches one of the most basic rights of all: that an Englishman's home is his castle.

But other rights must also be considered. The right to live in a drug-free neighbourhood. The right to feel safe in your own home. The right to protect your children from dealers, and to ensure that their local playground is not littered by used syringes and other drugs paraphernalia.

In their battle against drugs, police are sometimes frustrated by red tape. Official procedures are necessary to safeguard against miscarriages of justice, of course. But the dealers face no such restrictions and drugs have pervaded every area of society as a result.

The identity of many offenders is known to neighbours and to police. But they cannot act without evidence. If detectives who search these houses can find the proof necessary to put another dealer out of circulation, the benefits of this new initiative will outweigh anxieties about it.

However, the police must use their new power selectively and sensitively. They need to be believe that illegal activity is going on in premises before searching them. Public goodwill towards this scheme will be lost if an innocent party is targeted.

Crucially, though, the initiative for this scheme came not from the police but from a landlord who wants to see drugs eradicated not only from his property but from the city. That is an ambition to which we can all subscribe.

see also 'Police get keys for tenanat drug checks'

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.