The distribution of controlled drugs on banknotes via counting machines

Bundles of paper, similar to sterling banknotes, were counted in banks in England and Wales. Subsequent analysis showed that the counting process, both by machine and by hand, transferred nanogram amounts of cocaine to the paper. Crystalline material, similar to cocaine hydrochloride, could be observed on the surface of the paper following counting. The geographical distribution of contamination broadly followed Government statistics for cocaine usage within the UK. Diacetylmorphine, Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA) were not detected during this study.     

Reinventing the Treasury: Economic Rationalism or an Econocrat’s Fallacy of Control?

The 1994 Fundamental Expenditure Review (FER) of the UK Treasury was a radical overhaul of organization that had major implications for the way the Treasury conducts its business. This article examines the origins and implications of FER, paying particular attention to the 'strategic' philosophy of controlling public expenditure encapsulated within it. Ostensibly an expression of modern economic rationalism overturning outmoded administrative practices, the FER approach to public spending control might alternatively be interpreted as a manifestation of a recurring 'econocrat's fallacy of control' which aims to remove redundancy, random search mechanisms and external veto points from control systems.