People living in Wicklow Street have found that they were all making calls to the police – now they stand together in their calls for action

SEVERAL residents in a street overwhelmed by the Camden’s drugs trade launched a fightback after discovering they had all been calling the police for months without any response.

They defiantly stood together for a photo this week outside Derby Lodge in Wicklow Street, King’s Cross, as they reiterated calls on the police and politicians to take action.

With a striking photo illustrating what is happening on their doorsteps, the New Journal reported last week how the cobbled mews had become a hotspot for brazen drug taking and dealing with “drops” for 20 to 40 people happening twice or three times every day.

The street had been “remarkably quiet” since the front page story, residents said, but they are looking for a lasting solution beyond the pressure that headlines can bring. The coverage led to calls to our office from people in several other areas of Camden where people say they face similar scenes right next to their homes.

Crowds at the table tennis table in Wicklow Street

The photos in Wicklow Street, however, perhaps best highlight the frustration, and this week more images emerged of ‘drug deal crowds’ making the play area in the street unusable. Apparent customers of a dealer were sprawled around the ping pong table.

Moments apart, the scenes on the south side of Euston Road seem a world away from the spotless and regenerated King’s Cross railwayslands on the north side, which is guarded by private security.

One heavily pregnant woman, who has lived in King’s Cross all her life, said: “This all started about a month ago. I woke up on Sunday morning and went out to the street. They were all out there.

“There was someone dealing out of car, which happens a lot. “ rang up the police gave them the photo, gave them the reg number, and said ‘they are there – go get them!’ Nothing happened. It was like a crack festival that day. By the end of the day, all the neighbours were so upset about it, everyone was out in the street and had started speaking to each other. We all realised we had all been phoning the police over and over. I found out I wasn’t on my own. We all found out we weren’t on our own.”

She added: “I have always lived in this area. I’ve never had a problem walking past a crackhead. They don’t care about me – but this is different. It’s the mass numbers. They can tell you to get off the street. Young people, old people. It’s very organised. This is next level.”

SEE ALSO ‘BILLIONS OF POUNDS HAVE BEEN SPENT ON TRYING TO STOP PEOPLE TAKING DRUGS. IT HASN’T WORKED – WE NEED SOME NEW IDEAS’

Residents want the council to help them organise a public meeting with police in the Derby Lodge community centre.

Ward councillors said this week with a letter to the New Journal that they would be playing their part in asking the police to do more. In response to the Wicklow Street coverage, the police say they cannot solve the problem on their own, see below.

Another resident, who also asked not to be named, said: “The last time I arrived home and I couldn’t get in. I have already called the police many times. Nothing happens. That time, I was upset, I was scared. I cannot be bothered to call the police again. It’s not my job to call the police every time I come home.”

Residents are frustrated because the daily drug deals are apparently happening in full view of cameras set up outside the blocks.

One man said: “They are oblivious to CCTV. We have to find some sort of solution. Otherwise it will get worse and worse. Initially it would be nice to just get people together and talk about what can be done.”

Last week’s CNJ front page – the street has been ‘quieter’ this week after it was published

While the impact of street drug dealing in Wicklow Street is acute, the issue is affecting lives across the borough.

The New Journal was contacted by residents this week warning of similar problems in Kilburn, Kentish Town, Maitland Park.

At Maitland Park, one resident told the New Journal: “Each day we are seeing a steady stream of desperate people buying and using drugs openly. Two women we see repeatedly lying half naked in the street trying to find a vein in their groin they can inject into, in this state outside St Dominic’s, inside our block or lying by the bins outside.

“It is tragic but we can’t help, they need professional help, and the dealer needs to be removed. We are reporting it daily to police and council.”

Meanwhile, the level of need for drug services has “increased substantially” due to the cost of living crisis and a “spate of overdoses” over the last year is being blamed on a super strength batch of heroin that is continuing to be sold on the streets in Camden.

Outsourced treatment services have come under heavy strain due to the “economic and social challenges everyone has experienced” in recent years, a report to the council’s health scrutiny committee said last month.

There has been an “emergence of high strength opioids supply” in the last year, according to Camden’s director of public health Kirsten Watters. The drugs are suspected to be nitazenes, or to have been laced with the synthetically-produced fentanyl, primarily used for pain relief in hospital on cancer patients or after surgery.

Camden recently spent £75,000 doing up the Wicklow Street play area – but sometimes it can’t be used because of the drugs problem

‘We can’t tackle this on our own’ Police respond to our front page as pressure mounts

Police have now commented on the situation in Wicklow Street. Here is their statememt in full:

Inspector Al Campbell, who is in charge of the Safer Neighbourhoods Teams in north Camden, said: “We understand the community’s concern about drug use in the Wicklow Street area, we share this concern and we are taking it very seriously, which is why we have already taken a number of proactive steps to deter this unwanted and unlawful behaviour.

“We know that the supply of drugs has devastating consequences on communities. It causes addiction, has detrimental health impacts and leads to anti-social behaviour and violence. That is why we are determined to crack down on drugs and the gangs that exploit vulnerable people, while also working with partners to support drug users through addiction.

“The Wicklow Street area is being patrolled every day by people from the King’s Cross Safer Neighbourhoods Team, and we have requested additional resources from other teams and units in the Met to step this up even further.

“We are also working closely with Camden Council including looking at future funding opportunities for initiatives to tackle drug supply in the area.

“However, we cannot tackle this issue alone and so I would encourage the community to continue reporting any information to us on 101 – or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

“The information you give us helps us to build our intelligence picture and remove criminals from our streets. “Community crime-fighting is the bedrock of how we police. Together, we can make the area a safer place for everyone to live and work.”