For my final honours project at university I wanted to focus on a project that would deliver in social and local context. I started researching into some current issues in Aberdeen City and from there I began to identify some drug-related issues that were continually re-occurring in the Scottish and local newspapers during the period of October 2007 – January 2008. It was for hard for me to ignore since the articles described severe problems relating to the supply and demand of heroin and crack-cocaine, and highlighted the city’s situation as ‘unique’ to the rest of Scotland.

During this time the media were branding Aberdeen City as ‘the crack-cocaine capital of Scotland’ and also during my early weeks of research, Grampian Police successfully apprehended a major drug syndicate during their Operation Blaven. This gang leader was trafficking and controlling large supplies of heroin and crack-cocaine in Aberdeen, from his home in London was making hundred of thousands of pounds. Also during this period of time Grampian Police had seized 10 times the amount of crack cocaine, than all the other Scottish forces put together.

Aberdeen was described as an ‘open market’ for these criminals to operate in, and this is the reason described for the city’s unique situation. Unlike the other large Scottish cities that have established crime families, already controlling the market, Aberdeen has none. Usually these criminals act as a barrier against these individuals since they don’t tolerate other criminal gangs operating in their territory. However this is often the cause of gang violence and Grampian police say they will do all in their power to disrupt any criminal activity setting up like this in Aberdeen.

A rock of crack-cocaine or a bag of heroin easily doubles or triples in price compared with London or the West Midlands. Syndicate bosses from Liverpool, Wolverhampton and London are all in this, and send couriers up on a daily basis with large amounts of these drugs to meet their client’s needs. They‘re attracted by the areas affluence, lack of competition and increased safety the city provides for them. They exploit the north-east by aggressively marketing their drugs; they devastate the lives of local people and families, meanwhile making vast profits from a wealthy and hard-working area of Scotland.

ABDN RUN is a project that documents a period of time during October 2007 – March 2008. It was designed to identify the current problem in Aberdeen city with heroin and crack-cocaine, from the trafficking and supply, to an insight of the fierce addictive nature of both drugs. The project consists of a short film and was also backed by an in-depth book I compiled from my primary research and photography. ABDN RUN required me to move through all areas of the city to capture the visuals and find the information I needed to develop the project.

I decided to take a on an investigative role and generate accurate information myself, so to have a basis for the communication tools I would design. I gathered primary research from a wide spectrum of people that I interviewed and talked to during this period. I started from the buildings of law-and-order, and moved to the streets and flats of users to find out the truth of problem. Using film + photography, and the quotations and statements I gathered from my interviewees. I produced awareness tools that were designed to engage with the city’s inhabitants and local councillors, to create an emotional response and perhaps raise dialogue on the current situation.