ORGANISED drug dealing is a top priority for police over the coming year as the force waged war on the illegal ‘gig economy' developing in Oxford.

Area commanders from across Oxfordshire yesterday declared drug dealing - and in particular the ‘scourge of modern society’ known as county lines - as a key area of focus.

The phrase refers to a technique adopted by gangs in areas like London and Birmingham in which they expand their drug market into other counties, often exploiting children and vulnerable people in the process.

Yesterday, city police commander Superintendent Joe Kidman said modern drug dealing, utilising advances in technology, had created an easy-access ‘Deliveroo’-style service for drug users.

He said: “There are 700 opiate users in the city. There is a large drug market and that has consequences.

“Twenty years ago drug dealers would hang around waiting for people to approach them. Now it’s organised... It’s a business-like model.

“That creates a different environment. It’s a more efficient system for dealing and easier to get drugs to people.”

As well as being easier for users to obtain drugs, Supt Kidman warned it was easier for people to become embroiled in the marketplace.

He added: “It’s like a gig economy for drugs. There’s always the opportunity for more people to get involved and people are recruited more easily.”

Children, often in their early teens, will be deployed in Oxfordshire by organised criminal groups operating in large cities. Once in the county, they will frequently set up shop in the homes of vulnerable people and drug addicts.

Supt Kidman said responses to this varied, but included high visibility patrols in drug hot spots and more partnership working. Both of these have been seen this month during a series of high-visibility patrols as part of Operation Stronghold, the force’s response to organised crime.

He said: “With open air drug markets it’s about communities having the confidence to report and us to take a swift joined-up approach to that area.

“We will also seek to reduce the number of users by linking them with charities that can help tackle their addictions and improve their life chances.”

Discussing whether or not Oxford’s drug marketplace was growing, the area commanders said it was difficult to tell.

Supt Kidman said: “The challenges of austerity in Oxford attracted some really good services for vulnerable people in the city. That does mean that, at times, there are more people who are drug dependent.”

Other priorities outlined in the meeting included burglaries, of which there are roughly two each day in the city.

Another priority, outlined by commander for South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse Supt Rory Freeman, is rural crime, including hare coursing and other acts described as ‘vile animal cruelty’.