Good Cop Bad War: Interview with ex-undercover operative Neil Woods

After spending almost 20 years befriending those most victimised by the illicit drug trade, infiltrating clandestine operations and busting vicious criminals, Neil Woods realised the fight against drugs was driving, instead of solving crime. This April we will speak to Neil in conversation as we hear his first-hand experience of fighting in the front lines of the drugs war, and the devastating suffering he observed resulting from prohibition. 

Shape-shifting through various undercover roles, Neil moved across the country, manipulating problematic street drug-users to be introduced to some of Britain's most violent, unpredictable gangsters. Held several times at knife point, he witnessed the staggering brutalities generated by the unregulated drugs market and the failing of police tactics to resolve the increasingly-savage resulting criminality. 

Fighting in the wild-west of the illegal drugs trade, what are the stories which led Neil to realise the injustice of UK drug policy? Where has his reformed position led him so far? And amidst the psychedelic revolution and changing cultural paradigm shifts, what can we learn from a history of prohibition and predict for the future?

Neil Woods

Neil spent 23 years in Derbyshire Constabulary and was on the frontlines as a drugs undercover operative over fourteen years. He developed tactics and the training for other undercover officers and later became a Detective Sergeant with Derbyshire CID whilst acting as a board member of the Drugs Expert Witness and Valuation Association (DEWVA). 

Since quitting his undercover role, deciding to campaign against the war on drugs, Neil is now Chairman of LEAP UK and a board member of LEAP in the USA. LEAP (Law Enforcement Action Partnership) is a U.N. accredited international organisation composed of law enforcement figures, military and policy influencers who campaign for evidence based drug policy. Neil is a regular in the media commenting on drugs and drug policy, and is also the best selling author of ‘Good Cop, Bad War’, and Drug Wars, with JS Rafaeli.

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