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This chapter provides an account of the everyday realities of the war on drugs by examining the dynamics and dilemmas of how drug investigations are planned, authorized, and carried out after a case becomes operational. Attention is given to drug warrants, covert surveillance, and test purchase operations—the tactical resolutions that were used time and again for taking care of business. It focuses on the occupational perspective and practices of detectives, how they interpreted, made sense of, and manipulated the rules of the drug game, and the ways in which they used intelligence, gathered evidence, exercised power, and defined success.

This chapter examines the context, strength, and development of intelligence accountability in the U.K., focusing on surveillance, and it concludes that intelligence accountability in the U.K. has been limited in scope and bureaucratic in function. It first discusses the historical and legal contexts of surveillance and assesses the development and impact of surveillance law. It draws attention to the number and range of oversight bodies, but also identifies their inefficiencies and flaws, including their fragmented coverage and their emphasis on legal compliance rather than broader notions of accountability. The chapter notes that, in the absence of broader approaches to accountability, civil society campaigns against surveillance have filled the gap. Yet, although civil society interventions are important, they cannot take the role of rigorous official governmental review bodies. The chapter reflects on potential legal and institutional reforms to implement stronger independent oversight in the U.K.

This chapter begins with a review of the academic literature in order to explore the police informer/handler relationship and attempts to reform the use and regulation of police informers. Particular attention is paid to the moral dilemmas and practical problems of this covert policing strategy, as well as the changes introduced by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA). These changes include the establishment of authorization procedures and dedicated source units. The chapter then presents and discusses empirical findings on the role of informants in drug investigations and examines how drug detectives perceived and operated within the regulatory constraints of the police informer system.