IT'S invariably the empty needles discarded in public toilets or behind bushes in public parks that get people angry.

They're the obvious signs of the sordid trade in drugs that does so much to blight our society. Each time they are found, the same cry goes up: why don't the police do something?

The problem is that it is easy to round up the street-level dealers and users. But unless you catch the drugs bosses too, the street dealers locked away will simply be replaced by new ones.

That is what makes the latest campaign different - to catch the drugs masterminds. It is aimed not at pushers on the street: but at the high-level dealers who hide their activities behind a veneer of middle class respectability.

As Lynne Ploutarchou, regional development manager for Yorkshire and Humber Crimestoppers points out today, the real drugs masterminds may often appear to be the epitome of family decency: may even be a member of your golf or tennis club.

It is an uncomfortable thought. But it is absolutely right that the police should be turning their attention to these people. And while a TV, radio and billboard advertising campaign to change our attitudes may be a low-key beginning, if it can supply police with even a few leads, it will have been a good one. Because, as is so often the case, it may well be information supplied by members of the public that is the key to catching the criminal masterminds.

But if we are to play our part, we must expect this new initiative to be backed up by a real commitment from the police to dealing with the drug kingpins too. It is by working together that we can stop this evil trade.

Updated: 10:13 Tuesday, April 22, 2003