Oban Community Council has reached breaking point in its attempt to use the non-emergency police number 101.
The group says it now wants a local number to provide officers with concerns on drugs, and other matters – believing the information could help save lives.
The call came following the death of a young dad in the town on Sunday.
Dougie Graham, vice-chairman of the group, said: “At community council this week we had the new community inspector along. He told us to phone 101 when we see something going on with drugs.
“But the problem is when we phone 101 we get someone in another part of the country who does not know places like Jacob’s Ladder or Star Brae and we end up having to take an age to spell it out.
“And by the time the call handler takes down the address, the people we are phoning about are gone.
“We are not talking about a community-led police force anymore, not to my mind.”
Mr Graham added there are locals who “diligently” phone police when they see suspicious activity taking place expecting action, but they report “nothing happens”.
He continued: “People have stopped giving the police information, and the numbers of drug users in this town has gone up. And the number of people dying from drugs has gone up. It is not acceptable.
“Deaths from drug overdoses will never be statistics to me, or to the community council, this was someone’s child, a brother, a dad, a friend.”
Drugs deaths are not normal
Police have confirmed a 30-year-old man was confirmed dead at a property on Corran Brae in Oban on Sunday at 5.20pm.
He has been named locally as Fraser McKerracher.
Chief Inspector Simon Shanks, local area commander for Oban, stressed “all information” received by the police is acted upon – but explained other emergencies may stop officers attending immediately and intelligence-led patrols are a routine part of duties.
He said: “We recognise the impact of drug dealing on our town and share the concerns of the community council, which is why Inspector Page attended the meeting on Monday, January 30 to hear what residents have to say and provide reassurances around what work is being done.
“I recognise the public’s frustrations however would stress the massive importance of community information in helping us to tackle drugs supply.”
Since April last year, officers have made 317 stop searches in Oban, Mid-Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands. Chief Inspector Shanks said 111 resulted in drugs being found and action being taken.
He added that “a number of arrests” had been made in relation to county lines drug dealing in the town.
He continued: ““Stopping the unquestionable damage that is caused to our communities by drugs is one of our key priorities and it is not an issue that the police alone can solve.”
“That is why we work closely with other partners such as health services and housing providers to not only target the dealers but also to identify and provide support to those who are vulnerable to exploitation by criminals who seek to bring drugs into our town.
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