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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Drug arrests under review - Police consider changes to policy on cannabis possession
This Is Streatham Wednesday 04 Apr 2001 People caught with cannabis in Brixton may soon be let off with a warning instead of being arrested in a radical new policy being considered by senior officers. The proposed new procedure would see people caught in possession with a small amount of the illegal drug having it confiscated and receiving nothing more than a formal warning from police officers, instead of accompanying them to the station.Police chiefs hope that the practice will save them time and money, enabling them to concentrate their resources elsewhere, particularly in the fight against harder drugs such as crack cocaine. Commander Brian Paddick, who took over the responsibility for policing Lambeth at the beginning of the year, said: At the moment, if a person is arrested for cannabis possession, they will be arrested and taken back to the station, taking up to five hours for their case to be processed by two officers, totalling 10 man hours. This policy would mean we could save that time and deploy those officers on the streets making more arrests for drugs such as crack. Met chiefs are currently considering the proposal and a decision on its implementation is expected in the next couple of months. The proposed policy has received a mixed welcome from political groups, with fears it will send out the wrong message. Leader of Conservative councillors John Whelan said: Lambeth Polices plans for a softly softly approach to possession of soft drugs threatens to turn Brixton into a new Amsterdam. Once drug dealers cotton on that they will only get a caution when nicked for possession of cannabis in Lambeth the floodgates will open. If senior police chiefs want to experiment with new approaches to dope users perhaps it would be better to try somewhere else first. However, Green Party representatives have welcomed the proposal, and called for a greater liberalisation. Green Party Drugs Spokesman Shane Collins said: This is a step forward, but not far enough. We want to see legal cannabis sold in licensed coffee shops and the right to grow your own. We are fed up with being criminalised. We want a ceasefire in the war on drug users. Commander Paddick denied however that the new policy would turn Brixton into a new Amsterdam, and that licensed premises were not under consideration.
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