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One of the phone kiosks in Camden Road |
Step into the crack dealer’s busy office
‘We’re not here to solve social problems,’ says BT
PHONE boxes used as unofficial offices by crack dealers are ruining the lives of residents and shopkeepers in Camden Town.
A constant throng of dealers and drug users around a cluster of five kiosks in Camden Road has led to calls for their immediate removal.
Frustrated residents say the four BT-owned boxes and a disused kiosk previously run by Spectrum next to the towpath bridge have been allowed to become a hub for open drug use.
One shopkeeper whose business overlooks the kiosks has been forced to buy a dog to protect his staff from the drug addicts’ aggressive behaviour.
He said: “BT told me they would relocate the phone boxes but they won’t say when.
“In the meantime we need protection from the aggressive behaviour around those phone boxes. People smoke crack in them all day. I’ve seen police go past in a car, look in, see them and do nothing.”
Another man said he has called 999 at least 15 times in the past few months to report dealing and aggressive behaviour in broad daylight in the phone boxes.
He said: “The police are aware of them. It’s the same old people every day who deal and smoke crack.
“Sometimes they are shouting at random people with this look in their eyes like they can’t focus.”
At a community policing meeting last Wednesday in Primrose Hill Community Centre, a Highstone Mansions resident said: “The problem is at its worst between 11pm and 3am but people are coming and smoking crack there all day long.”
But a BT spokesman said that removing the phone boxes was not the answer, claiming it was a social problem.
He said: “This is a police matter, not a matter for BT.
“We work hard to provide kiosks for the public, not to resolve social problems.
“We are always willing to talk to the police and local authority but if there are four boxes there it is because that is where they are most useful to the community.”
Sergeant Roger Smith, of Camden and Primrose Hill Safer Neighbourhoods Team, said anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) were being sought to get rid of drug users and dealers in the area.
He added that BT had blocked incoming calls to the phones following complaints, but residents say this is not enough.
They have been calling for the removal of an orange and grey phone box that has become a vandalised eyesore since the company, Spectrum, went bust.
A council press official said the phone box would be removed before the end of October. A police spokes man said: “Sometimes it can be a complicated process getting phone boxes moved.
“Police are aware of the drugs-related behaviour in Camden Road, which is related to the phone boxes.” |
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