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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Marylebone's top cop talks about cannabis
Wood & Vale
Friday 03 Feb 2006 As part of a regular series the Wood&Vale is grilling Marylebone Divisional Commander Jon Morgan on a different crime issue each month. With the government's recent decision not to reclassify cannabis as a Class B drug causing controversy Haroon Siddique asked him about the police policy on the streets. How many cannabis-related crimes were recorded in Westminster last year? For the period 1st Jan 2005 to 31st Jan 2006. Possession of cannabis Class C For Marylebone = 315 For City of Westminster = 2880 Possession with intent to supply cannabis Class C For Marylebone = 4 For City of Westminster = 68 How much of your force's time is spent dealing with cannabis related offences? This is extremely difficult to quantify since each encounter with cannabis is going to be different, from a short encounter where a warning is issued and drugs seized, to a major drugs seizure involving partner agencies and cross border co-operation. In general, minor possession arrest can take up to 4 hours to process, if there is an admission that the cannabis is for personal use. Many of the arrest we make come after an arrest for another substantive offence such as theft or a drunkenness offence when a person is searched and cannabis found in their possession. If a person denies that the substance is cannabis or denies that it is theirs, and there some very interesting claims as to how the drug came to be in their possession, then we have to submit to a laboratory for analysis. This prolongs the matter and an arrested person may have to be bailed to return to the police station pending that analysis. There seems to be a lot of confusion about how police treatment of people caught in possession of cannabis? Can you clarify the situation? The policy on cannabis applies to all offences of simple possession of cannabis. It complements the national guidance issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). It does not affect offences of production, supply or possession with intent to supply cannabis. It will apply to any adult offenders found in possession of cannabis, where the officer is satisfied that the cannabis is intended for that person's use (personal possession). Aggravating factors may apply where an officer may consider arrest. Young persons found in possession of cannabis should still be arrested to allow formal disposal through the youth justice process. A police officer finding a person in possession of cannabis who is satisfied that the drug is intended for that person's own use will not normally arrest the offender unless aggravating factors apply. The drug must be seized but normally, no further action should be taken in respect of the offence other than administrative procedures. This policy is not intended to interfere with the discretion of a police officer, but to provide direction and focus towards Governmental and policing priorities. It formalises practices identified in Lambeth, where 'informal disposal of cannabis' took place. Our policy provides a framework to allow seizure of cannabis without arrest, protecting the officer and offender, thereby improving morale and public confidence. This approach to cannabis is also intended to remove a source of friction between the police and young people. It will reduce the amount of time devoted to policing the possession of a drug which, can be harmful to an individual's health but does not cause damage or danger to health or to the community on the scale of crack cocaine, cocaine or heroin. The aim of the reclassification of cannabis from a Class B to a Class C Drug was to ensure that the police service targeted serious drug misuse which is a danger to individual and to communities. The simple offence of possession of cannabis still carries a power of arrest. Possession of cannabis IS still a criminal offence and is recorded as such - the 'reclassification to Class C has not changed that. Where there is suspicion of possession with intent to supply, officers will continue to arrest a suspected person. Smoking cannabis in public view is not in the 'spirit' of re-classification, as possession of cannabis remains a criminal offence. Equally, where on a local basis, a police officer is aware of a person who is repeatedly found in possession of cannabis, this should be treated seriously and may lead to arrest as a prelude to a disposal such as Court, caution or penalty notice. The same is true where there are public complaints of use of particular areas for cannabis smoking - since such concentrations of users tend to bring associated problems - these locally identified areas can be the subject of focused police action. Such concerns may also be persons in possession of cannabis inside or in the vicinity of premises frequented by young persons, e.g. schools, youth clubs, play areas and police action will take place in respect of these areas. Brixton temporarily experimented with relaxed drug laws. Is there a risk different policies in different areas will compound public confusion? I think that there has been considerable public confusion surrounding this issue. This has been as a result of public expectation around decriminalisation as opposed to reclassification; the latter being a middle way between a criminal offence and legalisation. People may have heard what they wanted to hear and ignored the reality of the situation which is that cannabis was, is and continues to be a controlled drug, albeit reclassified from Class 'B' to Class 'C'. The reclassification is now some two-years-old and appears to be operating successfully in most cases. The recent debate and some empirical evidence that heavy use of cannabis (which some maintain the current classification may have encouraged) can be more dangerous to an individual's health and mental welfare than previously thought, has again raised the question of appropriate classification. The Home Office has reviewed the evidence and made the decision to retain the classification at 'C'; recognising cannabis has deleterious effects on some individuals but not on many others and that the benefits in policing time and focus and in potential for improvement ion police community relations are significant. There is a school of thought cannabis is not linked to the same anti-social effects as other drugs and enforcement is an unnecessary burden for police. Do you agree? As I understand it this is the basis for the original policy decision to reclassify. The evidence referred to above, as I understand it refers to significant misuse of cannabis and like anything used or abused in excess there are likely to be penalties to be paid. The same is true of alcohol and tobacco - if they are abused, there is a physical mental and indeed social price to be paid. Some would argue that alcohol and tobacco are more harmful than cannabis given their effect on behaviour and that were we to be in a position where they were recently discovered, they too would be heavily regulated and possibly criminalised. That they have been a part of society for millennia in the case of alcohol, and five centuries in the case of tobacco, puts them in a different position. There are however significant anti-social effects - youths congregating and smoking cannabis in public areas. Many people are frightened by such gatherings and by the easily identifiable smell. Cannabis abuse can be dangerous for the individual and for communities and our policy is designed to affect such abuse. Do you support decriminalisation of cannabis? There is, as mentioned above, a significant distance and difference between reclassification and decriminalisation. Trade in cannabis remains illegal. There is a link between that trade and other types of crime. There may be a link between this and other types of drug. To decriminalise would perhaps be a step too far for a significant part of society and the current position allows police to tackle serious drug abuse and dealing, whilst retaining the status of cannabis as a controlled drug whose dangerous effects on individuals if abused are acknowledged and recognised. There is a wealth of further information on the Home Office website - www.homeoffice.gov.uk / drugs/ . This outlines the changes, what is the current position, and help for parents, teachers and young people to answer questions which are frequently asked. It also has links to Frank @talktofrank.com - a very useful site for young people to visit. If you have any information or concerns about drug use / misuse in your areas, the local sector Inspectors and the soon to be Safer Neighbourhood Teams are a ready pint of reference. They can be contacted on the numbers below Inspector Bob Hedderman http://woodandvale.london24.net
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