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Edward Ellison is a retired police officer. He had a thirty year police career, almost all spent as an investigator within the Criminal Investigation Department of London’s Metropolitan Police. He retired in 1993 at the rank of Detective Chief Superintendent heading the Crime Policy Branch of Specialist Operations Department at New Scotland Yard. Throughout that career he tended to specialise in drug policing and murder investigations. He was experienced in searching scenes of crime and dealing with multiple exhibits. He attended the Junior and Senior Forensic Science Courses at the Detective Training School and was a training school instructor in the organisation of murder enquiries and their investigation. He was very familiar with examining statements prepared for court hearings and is very experienced at preparing and giving evidence.

He spent four years in the early 1970s as a Detective Sergeant on London's Drug Squad, two years at Heathrow Airport countering drug importation in conjunction with HM Customs and Excise officers and a further two years countering large scale drug distribution across London. In the mid 1980s he returned to the Squad as Operational Head at the rank of Detective Chief Inspector and spent a further three years in that post. He was responsible for the selection, training and leadership of the officers on that squad. He was a specialist in the running of covert, undercover operations and informants and represented the UK at the first European attempt to standardise covert operations across national borders and ensure adequate training of undercover officers. He was an investigator and crime manager at a number of central London police stations including Brixton, Harrow Road and Paddington where the use of drugs was a major factor motivating other crimes.

He was familiar with the use and distribution of a variety of drugs from a policeman’s point of view and now, through regular discussions with users, also about their personal lifestyles, drug uses, habits and outlooks.

Since retiring from the police service he has continued his efforts to reduce the harm of drug abuse through association with the drug charity Release (as a trustee and treasurer) and with a local charity supporting intravenous drug users attempting to maintain their rehabilitation. He has written on drug abuse and drug policy for a number of national newspapers and magazines, appeared on numerous television and radio discussions and has regular dialogue with current drug users at ‘Treatment’ and ‘Harm Reduction’ conferences, both in the UK and overseas. He has spoken at a number of these conferences.

He is familiar with a wide range of drug use, the illegal supply methods, the effects and the variety of prices involved. He is also familiar with the numerous factors that impact on the price, whether at ‘street’ or ‘importation’ level. In the field of cannabis he is well versed in the areas of importation, commercial and social distribution, home production (home grow) together with the medical and social uses. He contributes to a UK national cannabis magazine and contribute to, and draws additional knowledge from, a variety of ‘on-line’ cannabis communities.

There are a variety of ways in which this experience can be deployed to assist a court. All too often the prosecution case relies on the evidence of police officers who have received little specialist training within the relevant field and whose experience limits their breadth of vision when assessing the appropriate charges. Whether it be their estimates of ‘value’ of a controlled drug, their interpretation of the evidence to justify an allegation of ‘possession with intent to supply’ , the fact that forensic laboratories insist on weighing the complete cannabis plant, their limited appreciation of the research done in respect of both 'normal' and 'chronic' drug use, the lack of appreciation of the rapidly changing international supply chain or a simple conclusion drawn from a scene examination – all these may reflect enthusiasm, tradition, integrity and commitment but lack experience. Edward Ellison has the background to properly examine the case papers from the perspective of a long, supervisory career and to interpret the conclusions based on his unique combination of policing experience coupled with his current ‘harm reduction’ knowledge and user contacts.

There will be cases where his particular background is likely to carry weight with the prosecution and to reduce excess court and defence costs by an early agreement about the appropriate counts for the indictment. In the summer of 2006 he passed the 'century of criminal cases' milestone, having prepared 'expert' evidence for more than a hundred cases. A brief discussion often clarifies exactly how, and if, the court can be assisted before recourse to a formal request for statement.