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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Police take soft line on cannabis
This is London
Tuesday 27 Mar 2001 Police take soft line on cannabis by Ken Hyder and Justin Davenport Drug users found with cannabis in their pockets are to be let off with a formal warning rather than arrested in a radical new initiative set to be launched by police in London. Cannabis users will be given a warning but will not be arrested in Brixton Senior officers in Brixton - the capital's premier illegal drugs market - are planning the move in an effort to free their resources to fight harder drugs such as crack cocaine. Rather than arresting people found with small amounts of cannabis, police would simply issue a warning and confiscate the drugs. The change in policy is set to ignite the debate over the legalisation of cannabis. The Government has adopted a "zero tolerance" attitude to all drugs on the grounds that cannabis is a "gateway" to harder substances. Lambeth officers deny the policy would turn Brixton into a new Amsterdam. They believe the strategy would curb drugs sales by giving officers more time on the streets to pursue dealers and customers. The process of confiscating drugs and issuing a warning on the street could take just 10 minutes of a Pc's time, instead of 10 hours if the person was arrested, taken to a police station and cautioned formally. Commander Brian Paddick, who has recently taken charge of policing Lambeth, said: "We are seriously considering using this formal warning process to deal with cannabis possession. The officer will seize the cannabis and it will be signed for by the suspect. It will be sealed and disposed of. The person in possession has to accept the warning - otherwise they will be arrested. "This new move will not turn Brixton into a mini-Amsterdam. In Amsterdam the police don't take small amounts of cannabis off you. Here, we will." When police stop and search people on the street, about half the arrests are for small amounts of cannabis. Those arrested are usually cautioned, and even if they go to court, usually end up with a £50 fine. Mr Paddick argued that depriving more customers of their drugs would seriously undermine the drugs market. He said: "Brixton is known as a place to come and buy drugs. But if we move to this policy of formal warnings, the message will be that you may be able to come and buy - but you might not be able to leave with your purchases. "It might put them off coming here to buy in the first place." Police regularly give members of the public similar warnings for minor offences which can be recorded in a book. The practice is often used for shoplifting, for example. Similarly, drivers can get a warning for illegal parking, or people can be moved on for being drunk in the street. Brixton's drugs problem is in turn driving a high rate of street robbery and gun crime. Efforts to target drug dealers and robbers have had some success, but often street dealers are replaced within days after arrest operations against them.
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