The bastard offspring of cocaine, crack first entered the UK in the early 1990s. By the end of the decade Britain's inner cities were in the midst of a crack epidemic, with users being responsible for a massive proportion of crime -- 95% of street shootings are crack-related, for example. Communities, especially in London, were crying out for help, but there were only two specialist units in the whole of the capital.

One of them, Haringey Drugs Squad, embarked on a war on crack, aiming to shut down all 100 crack houses in their borough in one year. Amazingly, they did it. Even more amazingly, in the subsequent twelve months all black-on-black killings in Haringey ceased, and burglaries and muggings fell massively. Narrated by the leader of this team, CRACK HOUSEdescribes in heart-stopping fashion a series of breathtaking raids as well as arrests, beatings, stabbings and shootings. Featuring a colourful team of family men who regularly faced death, CRACK HOUSEtakes the reader into the dark heart of our cities' most violent and terrifying places, showing how the war on drugs can only be won by constant and forceful vigilance.